It’s been 18 days since the District was hit by that major blizzard that brought around 7 inches of snow to the District, and the impacts of that snowfall are still clearly visible to this day, nearly three weeks later!
The dramatic amount of high-humidity snow that piled up quickly, coupled with the freezing temperatures that immediately set in after the snowstorm finally subsided, resulted in any unplowed snow turning into dense and heavy ‘snowcrete’.
Coupled with the snow removal response from the city, which has largely been criticized as slow and ineffective, many Washingtonians were left unable to access their vehicles that were buried in ‘snowcrete’.
For better or worse, now that temperatures are finally above freezing consistently and the ‘snowcrete’ has started to soften and melt away, the District has announced it will resume its parking enforcement.
When is D.C. parking enforcement going to resume?
After being suspended in the District on January 24th, D.C. parking enforcement was reinstated at noon on Wednesday, January 11th, and today, Thursday, January 12th, all posted parking regulations are expected to be complied with, and violators will be ticketed.
This means that all Washingtonians are expected to park as they would normally, even if heavy banks of snow deposits or patches of ‘snowcrete’ make certain stretches of street parking inaccessible or unsafe.
Additionally, this now means that owners of vehicles that were buried and stuck in the frozen snow are expected to shovel out their car and ensure that it is abiding by any and all posted parking regulations.
How to request community aid to clear your car from the snow
While Washington, D.C. is noted as one of the best places for young professionals in the nation, not every Washingtonian has the privilege of youthful energy; many among us don’t have the same capability of marching out into the cold to break up and shovel out the ‘snowcrete’ around their car in one go.
For both those of us who can help out and those who need a helping hand, the Washington DC Snowball Fight Association created an online platform called ‘Snow Posse‘, which consists of an interactive digital map where you can report unshoveled snow sites and also volunteer to contribute to clearing them.