The temporary reprieve for un-shoveled sidewalks has ended, as of 12:00PM today (12/23).  The city granted the moratorium on citations in recognition of the massive amounts of snow individuals have had to deal with, and the fact that many city buildings have failed to conform to the clear sidewalk campaign.   Typically home & business owners are required to have pedestrian areas cleared of snow by noon after a snowfall.

Tickets are also being issues for still buried vehicles in metered lots, although it is unclear whether those parked in posted hourly limit areas will be affected.

Meanwhile, in an effort to promote good cheer & holiday spending, the city has opened both it’s Water & Market Street parking garages for free through Christmas Eve.  We are unsure if the problematic ‘lock-in’ policy is still in place at the Water St. facility, which has caught many owners unaware that they must vacate by midnight, or face increased charges to release their vehicle.  [Photo Credits]

For those who have been driving or walking downtown the past few days, have you noticed the inordinate issues created between bad drivers & bad walkers?  While the recent snowfall has been touted as the worst accumulation in 11 years, and therefore many are far from familiar with driving in wintry conditions, we are forced to imagine that in the interest of self preservation some would exercise a little more caution & consideration on the roadways.

From having been on both sides of this debate the past weekend, I’m floored as to how many near accidents or near crushings I witnessed in just a few hours on the roadways.  While drivers should count themselves lucky (with our warm cars, our ability to carry large amounts of groceries home, and potentially save ourselves from falling in the muck), we should also yield to pedestrians at every conceivable exchange.  However, those on foot should exercise some level of common sense, as I witnessed many individuals unwilling to move from roadways, therefore causing those already traction challenged to take evasive maneuvers or stop quickly, occasionally causing some to become stuck.  The attitude from a few pedestrians seems to indicate that they are either impervious to 3,000 pounds of sliding metal, or that the winter holidays really do have a suicidal effect on the psyche.

Many drivers showed the greatest of common sense by following exceedingly close to cars ahead, attempting to accelerate quickly whenever traction became limited, and slowing down before attempting to climb large hills.  With Virginia State Police reporting over 3,237 crashes, and 3,567 ‘disabled’ vehicles, we can only hope that all of our readers made it through the hazardous conditions safely.  [Photo Credits]