‘I’m Not Out There To Ticket People’: Meet Marianne and Michael, the Town’s New Parking Enforcement Officers

Michael Esposito, an active volunteer firefighter here since 2011 and first lieutenant in the New Canaan Fire Department, doesn’t see many people during the first part of his shift with the Parking Bureau. In the mornings, he oversees the outskirts of downtown—primarily the long-term lots around the train station. Yet in the afternoon he gets to the business permit and pay station lots—such as Locust Avenue and Center School—and in interacting with members of the community then, Esposito said he likes “to educate them before I give them a ticket.”

“I will catch people a lot of times pulling into a space and walking past the meter, or pulling into a loading zone and not looking at the signs, and I will catch them and tell them ‘Hey listen,’ and try not to give them a ticket. I try to educate them. I feel like that’s something a lot of people don’t know: I’m not out there to ticket people.”

He added: “I took this position because I thought it would be a better opportunity to serve the town, help the town.”

Together with Marianne Borchardt, Esposito is the newest member of the Parking Bureau.