After turning the corner onto Main Street on a clear blue morning in late May, Francis “Fran” Larvey spotted a Toyota Tacoma next to a flashing parking meter outside Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center and walked up to take a closer look.
A man approached calmly and asked if he was “too late.”
“Is that you?” Larvey asked before receiving confirmation. “Go in peace, your sin is forgiven.”
This light-hearted, fleeting conversation was one of countless interactions Larvey has had with members of the public since becoming a Greenfield parking enforcement officer 10 years ago. There were five when he was hired in 2016, but now he and newbie Charles MacLean are the only ones patrolling the city’s sidewalks, each working 19 hours per week.
Enforcement officers often draw the ire of motorists angered by an unanticipated financial hit and the infuriating reality of being penalized for simple, unintentional human errors. Online news outlets are rife with stories of traffic wardens in various countries being harassed, insulted and assaulted for issuing tickets. But Larvey said that has never been a problem for him.
“In truth, there are very few negative interactions,” he said. “The people around here are just so nice.”
Larvey starts each workday at Greenfield City Hall, where he dons his reflective shirt and picks up his portable equipment before setting off. There are at least 480 on-street metered spaces in downtown Greenfield, with most of them being along Main Street.
Paid parking is available on the street and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and free at all other times. Motorists can pay with coins or via the Passport app (www.passportparking.com).
Every city block is a separate parking zone designated on Larvey’s city-issued Getac tablet. He issues tickets through a Zebra ZQ320 mobile printer strapped around his shoulder. The two devices are paired via Bluetooth, and he takes a photo of each ticket.
“Right now, it says, ‘No active sessions,'” he said, reading the Getac during his morning patrol, “which means that nobody is on the app, so that if a meter is flashing, that means that they are [liable] for a ticket. And if they’re on the app, the meter doesn’t change.
“A lot of people say, ‘Gee, I used the app, but the meter is flashing,'” he continued. “If you use the app, you will see that the meters do still flash, but you won’t get a ticket.”
Larvey’s first ticket of the day was issued to a Kia Telluride on Main Street at 9:55 a.m.; the second was doled out to a Toyota Corolla iM. He mentioned he first set out to be a “cowboy” and dispense as many tickets as possible, but he has since softened his approach to the job.
“We’re all God’s children. We’re all neighbors,” he said. “And anytime I can give somebody a break, I will, but I’ve got to do my job.”
The city’s current framework and ordinances for parking management are rooted in the creation of the Parking and Traffic Commission, formally adopted on Jan. 17, 2007. The Commission is responsible for overseeing parking regulations, maintaining meter revenue, and ensuring parking for residents, employees and downtown businesses.
The Parking Enforcement Division became fully staffed with MacLean’s hiring in December 2025. Parking Enforcement Supervisor Judi Brown previously told the Greenfield Recorder that the city operated with one full-time parking enforcement officer, Susan McMahon, until her resignation in July 2023. After that, Larvey oversaw enforcement operations alongside another part-time officer who had resigned over the summer.
Brown recently said Larvey is earning $24,360 this year, while MacLean is making $21,340. However, she noted that these figures will likely increase this fiscal year. The parking enforcement officers belong to the Clerical Union, which has not yet finished negotiations.
In 2017, then-Mayor William Martin alleged that at least two Town Council members had been angry about receiving parking tickets and had threatened to cut funding for parking enforcement. But Todd Dodge, the current police chief, said the Division generates revenue for the city every year.
“They more than pay for themselves,” he said of the enforcement officers.
Dodge said the parking enforcement budget for the current fiscal year is $124,600.
Larvey, who turns 76 this month, said a few habitual offenders have accrued $1,000 in parking violations. He also mentioned that some people seem to think they don’t need to feed the meter if they are just sitting in their vehicle.
“No, it doesn’t work that way,” he said.
Larvey worked in the bakery at the Stop & Shop in Greenfield for 30 years until he retired at 66.
“And then, after about three days, hanging around the house, I said, ‘I can’t do this — got to do something,’ And I heard that this job was available, so I said, ‘Hey, this suits me fine.’ I used to be [on] the track team and all that — got good legs,” he said. “Good legs and a thick skin is what you need, I reckon.”
Larvey said he enjoys the job but ponders his retirement every November, when the weather gets cold.
“I go year by year,” he said, adding that work provides a social outlet and helps him stay mentally sharp. “To me, the best thing is getting out and about, seeing people. It’s like a vitamin that I need.”
It appears Greenfield is the only Franklin County municipality with parking meters. Shelburne Town Clerk Joe Judd said his quaint community has none, though there were talks of installing kiosks during his 21-year tenure on the Selectboard.
“That was once discussed,” he said. “But the problem was always enforcement, you know?”
Christopher Dunne, the town administrator in Deerfield, said his town has one-hour parking areas and a ban on overnight parking on streets during plowing season.
Back in Greenfield, Larvey and MacLean also patrol the 270-space, four-floor Olive Street Parking Garage, the reason being that the front gate’s mechanical arm frequently malfunctioned shortly after the structure officially opened to the public in November 2018. The Greenfield Police logs soon became flooded with calls from panicked motorists who could not leave the garage.
The garage only allows payment via the Passport Parking app. Payment is required Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. While the first hour on all floors is free, it still requires activation on the app. Additionally, the top floor is completely free from the spring through the fall and does not require app registration.
Greenfield’s municipal website states that the city operates five municipal public parking lots equipped with pay-and-display kiosks. But Larvey said some of the kiosks have not been functional in years.
According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, parking meters are the brainchild of lawyer and newspaper editor Carl C. Magee. Their invention was the result of downtown retailers in Oklahoma City becoming frustrated over an influx of workers taking up parking spaces for entire days and limiting their customers’ access to their businesses. Magee joined forces with the engineering department at what is now Oklahoma State University, and the first meter was installed in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935.
It solved Oklahoma City’s parking problem and brought revenue into the city coffers, as a metered hour cost a nickel and parking fines ran $25 for each violation.
But some downtown merchants in Greenfield said parking meters can deter shoppers.
Becky Desjardin, a vendor at Whitney Hill Antiques at 122 Main St., said the most common complaint she hears is about Passport Parking app download failures.
“We tell them to go park on Wells Street,” she said.
Fellow vendor Steve Pedigree said any issues regarding parking are almost certainly not specific to Greenfield.
Justin Vincent, who co-owns Hens & Chicks consignment store at 308 Main St. with his wife, Mindy Vincent, said he knows meters curb activity, as customers have told him so.
“I understand the city has to make their money. I understand that there’s revenue generated from the meters. I understand the business side of that,” he said. “We do have a lot of customers that do come in and complain about the parking and that it costs money and that Greenfield is strict about enforcing it.
“I say to them, ‘It’s way out of my control,'” he continued. “And as much as I would like free parking, I understand the city has to make their money as well.”
Vincent said he doesn’t want Larvey or MacLean to lose their jobs, but it would be beneficial to businesses and shoppers if revenue could be generated another way. He said he would be happy to help brainstorm other revenue streams for the city.
The Vincents also own Consign 360 in Northampton, where they are lucky enough to have a parking lot about four miles from Main Street. They encourage their customers to check out the Greenfield shop, only to be told the shoppers avoid it because the parking situation is a massive headache.
“That does directly affect business,” Justin Vincent said.
Larvey said the 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was such a big deal that the city used its parking enforcement officers to patrol the parking lot of Greenfield High School, where the polls were located. That has not happened since.
According to the city’s website, parking permits are available to purchase online for specific city parking lots for $350 a year. Anyone who comes across a broken parking kiosk or meter — or one that does not get set for as many minutes as it should based on the coins inserted — is asked to report the issue via tinyurl.com/SeeClickFixGreenfield or by contacting the Greenfield Department of Public Works at 413-772-1528.
Those who have a disability plate or display a disability placard are exempt from paying parking fees at metered street parking and in municipal lots, including the Olive Street Garage. They are also exempt from the time limits on a parking space. However, this does not exempt plate or placard users from fines or towing when “No Parking” restrictions are in effect, such as during snow emergencies.
The city will not issue tickets for vehicles parked at meters that are inaccessible due to snow, ice or other factors. But vehicle owners are asked to document the conditions that prevented them from using the meter. If you receive a citation, you can submit an appeal if you believe the meter was inaccessible at the time of parking.
