Giant windshield cover could replace the parking boot

A Philadelphia native is looking to streamline parking enforcement with a new device that kicks boots to the curb.

The “Barnacle,” created by Kevin Dougherty, president of Ideas That Stick, is a device that attaches to a car’s windshield, obstructing a driver’s view and immobilizing the vehicle. It’s a replacement for a parking boot, which the company says is an “unpleasant situation for anyone who has experienced it, but it is also a drain on the administration’s resources.”

This drain includes fuel costs for towing or boot transport, storage costs for vehicles and boots, costs for damage done to vehicles and tires, as well as environmental costs.

The true genius behind the Barnacle, according to its website, is that it attaches securely to the windshield, using “commercial grade suction cups” that provide hundreds of pounds of force. Drivers can’t remove it without a code, and it also comes with a built-in alarm that senses when someone is trying to tamper with it illegally or move the vehicle.

But it also allows a person with a phone and credit card to pay the parking fine and remove the device themselves.

“Our lightweight, user-friendly design allows the violator to easily remove the device, without having to wrestle with a cumbersome boot or kneel down in traffic. They can then return it to a convenient drop off location within 24 hours, and they don’t have to miss that important meeting,” the website explains.

For enforcers, they can also store and transport these devices more easily than boots, the Drexel grad and former Marine told CBS Philly.

The Barnacle is already in use in Salt Lake City, Fort Lauderdale, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, which was the first place to test the device, according to the station.