Parking woes? Take a ticket

LYNN – Sal Carrillo was smiling. But the Revere resident was definitely not happy and he made sure city parking attendant Susan Masiello knew it as she handed him a $15 parking ticket for a timed parking zone violation Monday.?I think it?s ridiculous,” Carrillo said as he looked at the “15 Minute” sign he parked next to on Central Avenue.Carrillo asked Masiello why he received a ticket after parking at roughly the same time with other drivers in the 15-minute zone. Masiello explained she could only write one ticket at a time and Carrillo?s car happened to be the first she spotted parked near the sign.Although Carrillo might not have shared her opinion on Monday, Masiello said her job as one of the city?s on-street ticket writers is primarily intended to help people. The driver parking too long in a “tow zone” or 15-minute zone is someone potentially blocking access to a business. The owner of the car with the expired inspection sticker is getting a break if the lapse is pointed out by Masiello instead of a police officer preparing to write a ticket.?I actually help people,” she said.A longtime Lynn resident who formerly worked in a Boston hospital?s food service department, Masiello became a parking attendant seven years ago. She wanted to work closer to home and she liked the idea of working outdoors.She patrols local streets 32 hours a week and typically writes at least 25 tickets a day. Most of the violations are in the $20 range, although handicapped parking violations top $250. She takes argumentative drivers in stride but finds “most people are nice.”?My outlook is that if somebody is going to argue, they can?t argue with someone who won?t argue back,” she said.Driver Caleece Liverpool briefly tried to argue the $20 ticket she received from Masiello for parking in a “no parking anytime” zone. She explained she dropped off a client to pay a bill and didn?t see the sign.?I?m new to Lynn,” Liverpool said.When she sees a car parked in a timed parking zone, Masiello writes down when she saw the car and checks the time against the zone?s parking restrictions if the car is still parked in the zone when she circles back on her route.She takes a picture of a vehicle?s license plate and the sign designating the parking zone every time she writes a ticket. The photographs are entered into the Parking Department?s computer.?They show where the violation occurred and eliminate the question of why they got the ticket,” she said.Drivers are entitled to challenge parking violations but Masiello said she goes by the book when she is working a parking patrol route.?There is no such thing as a break,” she said.