When Beth DiLego isn’t documenting expired meters, she documents the history of a city in crisis.
DiLego, a parking enforcement officer in Sausalito, is also a photographer. Strapped with a camera and an art degree from Endicott College in Massachusetts, she is capturing the effect of coronavirus restrictions on the city of about 7,000 residents.
“I’ve taken hundreds of photos,” said DiLego, 52. “I’ve been doing photography and art-related projects my whole life. So photography seemed like a unique way to capture local history.”
The city is displaying her pandemic series online at bit.ly/3aXpuqh. Abbot Chambers, the city’s director of communications, said the collection contains about 450 photos shot from March 20 to April 27.
“She’s been quite busy,” he said.
DiLego said it’s hard to pick her favorite, but there is one that fills her with a sense of accomplishment.
“I took one looking down along Bridgeway,” she said. “The light is resting beautifully on the hill. There are no cars and only a couple of people walking down.”
DiLego moved from Massachusetts to California in the 1990s and has lived in Sausalito for nine years. She started a women’s clothing business when she arrived in the state, but had to close the shop because of the Great Recession.
Her experience allows her to understand the concerns of business owners who are living through the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.
“I can sort of see the perspective a little different from just the historical standpoint,” she said. “Obviously this is history in the making, but I’m trying to capture how the order effects small businesses in our little local Sausalito and how it’s changing our community.”
DiLego said the first few weeks showed a side of Sausalito that she had never seen before.
“It varies on weather but there is definitely less people,” she said. “The parking lots and streets are pretty empty. A lot more residents are coming down to walk through downtown who normally don’t when there are tourists.”
Abbot said her photos of closure signs on storefronts and empty streets resonated with people throughout the community.
“The early photos were so striking because Sausalitans are accustomed to throngs of people in the downtown area,” he said, “and then to have them see it as a ghost town brought that impact home to people here and in very profound way.”
But as the county’s stay-home order creeped into April, anxious residents from across the Bay Area decided to break the order to drive to Sausalito, congesting its downtown sidewalks and streets.
“Also documenting the increase in people coming into our city has been very helpful as well,” Abbot said. The influx of visitors prompted the city to increased patrols and order the closure of parking lots, he said.
He said he is using DiLego’s photos in various social media posts and in Sausalito Currents, a weekly e-newsletter.
“When I started with this idea I didn’t expect to snowball into this,” DiLego said. “I’m obviously thrilled. I can’t stress how much I enjoy working as an enforcement officer. I couldn’t be happier taking these pictures.”
As a community service officer, DiLego does more than enforce parking. The position involves tasks such as directing traffic around collision scenes, taking reports on minor crimes, delivering documents between city officials and checking on seniors.
“They are truly essential workers and provide additional public safety and important service to the community,” police Capt. Bill Fraass said. “While her main priority is parking enforcement, she is 100% ingrained in all aspects of public safety.”
DiLego said she snaps photos between calls for service, if time permits.
“I love my job,” DiLego said. “No two days are alike. I never know what will happen.”
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Sausalito parking cop finds sideline as pandemic artist - Marin Independent Journal
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