Ferris State University’s Department of Public Safety will begin using the Barnacle parking service beginning in the spring semester of 2026.
Barnacle parking is a parking enforcement service that allows parking managers to apply a large yellow device to car windshields when motorists have exceeded their parking time.
According to the Barnacle Parking website, a parking enforcer inputs the vehicle information and places the Barnacle onto the vehicle windshield, where it suctions to the glass.
In order to remove the Barnacle from their vehicle, the motorist can call the phone number listed on the device or visit the website to pay their fine.
Upon payment, the motorist is given a release code that they input into the device, which releases it. The motorist can then deliver the Barnacle to a nearby drop box.
Ferris State University is no stranger to parking issues, with students around campus dubbing enforcement officers as “meter maids.”
Currently, what the system DPS utilizes to monitor vehicle parking is physical officers on the ground, running plate numbers and writing tickets for meters that have run out.
DPS officer Robert Glentz explained that the decision to transition to the Barnacle program comes from a need to improve efficiency on campus and maintain fairness across campus.
“Unpaid parking citations and repeat non-compliance create both an administrative burden and a fairness issue for the broader campus community,” Glentz said. “The Barnacle system provides an effective enforcement tool that offers greater accountability for repeat violators, reduces the need for more extreme measures and encourages timely resolution of unpaid citations.”
Glentz clarified that implementation of the Barnacle system will be limited to the Big Rapids campus only, with Kendall College in Grand Rapids exempt from the service.
He further mentioned that the service will help to streamline the process for resolving unpaid tickets and reduce the labor-intensive responses of towing and physically booting vehicles.
The idea of the Barnacle is centered around the visibility of the device. The hope is that the attention it draws from others will prompt motorists who have violated parking rules to not repeat their offenses.
According to a post made on the DPS social media pages, motorists who have six or more unpaid citations are the only individuals who will be eligible to have the Barnacle deployed on their vehicles.
Human resources management junior Destiny Douglas expressed that parking has posed an issue during her time at Ferris and expressed concern over the implementation of the new Barnacle system.
“I think that parking can improve in a lot of areas. I work at Starbucks and live all the way over in West Campus, and I have to walk. If it’s raining or storming in the winter, it’s a harsh walk,” Douglas said. “If I get done with a long shift and I see that thing on my car, it’s going to go with me. That is so much of a hassle. We can build a dorm on a stadium where we already have a lack of parking and now I have to pay for this barnacle thing?”
Douglas expressed doubt over the effectiveness of the Barnacle system, stating that people are stubborn and may find a way to drive away with it attached to their vehicle.
While some students may be concerned about the Barnacle, others are not so worried.
Business management sophomore Diamond Cabbil expressed that the new parking system would be beneficial if students were properly informed.
“I wouldn’t be filled with rage or anything if I found it on my car,” Cabbil said. “I would be questioning it on what it is, especially if I was clueless. I would be wondering if it was something dangerous but I do believe that paper tickets are just a piece of paper. A lot of people aren’t going to pay that until it catches up with them.”
DPS officers are currently in training for the new system.