Why is it that prior to one of the big races on a Sunday, parking on Union Street is banned for two consecutive days (Saturday and Sunday), from George's House at Mount Vernon to Old Town. In this case, almost all of the parking spaces on Union Street were closed down on the Saturday the day prior to the race, and then again the next day on Sunday, the day of the actual race.
Although closing it down on Sunday was almost tolerable, closing it on Saturday inconvenienced hundreds of visitors to Old Town. I talked to many of these visitors, who indicated that they will probably never return to Old Town because of the lack of parking. There doesn't appear to be a good reason for closing this street down a day early, since towing from designated spots can be accomplished after midnight on Saturday.
My "almost" rating for Sunday was due to a Sheriff's car blocking the intersection on Union and Wolfe Streets at 8 a.m., with no Sheriff in sight. I barely managed to maneuver around his car by inches. Moreover, with all of the new restaurants going in on the waterfront, some 563 plus new diners will have a tough time parking, and stunts such as these will just add to the frustration. Pay attention to your citizens and customer’s needs, Alexandria!
Townsend A. “Van” Van Fleet
Alexandria