Reading Parking Authority sends notices to parking violators

The Reading Parking Authority has begun sending out notices to drivers who have one or more overdue parking tickets, quietly beginning the enforcement of a new system of handling tickets.

The authority voted to begin sending out the notices as a courtesy as the authority is now handling citations as a civil and not criminal matter.

The authority moved to a civil system after Mayor Wally Scott successfully campaigned on a promise that no one would be put in Berks County Prison for a parking violation.

The authority also has begun booting vehicles, starting with those of drivers who have an excessive amount of unpaid tickets.

“Seriously, we have people who owe $800 and $900 in unpaid fines,” said Reimundo “Rei” Encarnacion, authority executive director.

The main phone number for the authority has been busy all week with what Encarnacion said are scofflaws calling to inquire about the new system and how to pay their fines.

“Some people still think that a constable will come out and arrest them,” Encarnacion said. “They want to make arrangements before they get arrested.

“We’re eating our lunches in here (authority office), taking our breaks in here, it’s been crazy. But it’s a good kind of crazy.”

Encarnacion gave an example of one caller who was about to start a new job and didn’t want his car to get booted because he couldn’t get to his new job without it.

“We have to work with people,” Encarnacion said. “At the end of the day, we still have all of the paperwork on them here in the office, so it might take longer, but eventually, they will pay.”

Meanwhile, the authority expects to receive eight Barnacles by the end of the month. The Barnacle makers claim the device is a newer, safer way to boot the vehicles of scofflaws until their owners pay their fines.

Instead of being attached to the front wheel, Barnacles consist of two large hardened plastic panels. Each panel has an 18-inch suction cup that is attached to the windshield and can’t be removed without damaging the windshield.

Barnacles ordered by the authority also are equipped with an internal GPS device in case wayward motorists try to leave the scene by sticking their head out of the driver’s side window.

Barnacles can also be disabled remotely so a driver can pay the authority online or by phone and get a code to release the device.

They would then be required to drop the Barnacle off at the parking authority offices, 613 Franklin St.

For more information on the new parking violation system or the Barnacle, visit readingparking.com or call 610-655-6166.

Contact Dan Kelly: 610-371-5040 or dkelly@readingeagle.com.