Publisher's note: Believing that everyone is doing their best. Including you, I hope.
Frustration is fair. Cruelty isn't.
It’s been a hard week.
City crews have been working 24/7 since Saturday. They’ve made more than 20 passes on Duke Street alone. They’ve hauled 300 dump truck loads of ice out of Old Town and Del Ray — something City Manager Jim Parajon said hasn’t happened in decades.
Teachers pivoted to virtual learning on a day’s notice. Parents scrambled for childcare. Business owners watched as customers stayed home. Neighbors shoveled their own driveways and walkways, only to watch a plow go by and cover them again.
The city addressed this directly: narrow streets mean plows often have to push snow toward the curb. There’s no way around it. You may need to clear your sidewalk more than once.
It’s maddening. It’s also just how it works.
I’ve seen the comments online. About unplowed streets. About driveways walled in with ice. About “passable” roads that don’t feel passable. About why Alexandria can’t be more like Arlington, Fairfax, or Maine. One commenter said her husband asked ChatGPT the optimal time to plow and suggested the city should have figured that out too.
Everyone’s an expert when they’re not the one driving the plow at 2 a.m.
Some of that frustration is fair.
But the plow driver on hour 14 of a 12-hour shift? They’re doing their best. The city employee answering the same question for the hundredth time? Doing their best. The teacher keeping kids engaged through a screen while their own kids are stuck at home? Doing their best.
I’m choosing to believe that everyone is doing their best.
Including you, I hope.
One resident who’s lived in Alexandria since 1977 wrote that this storm was worse than any she’s experienced — the ice thick enough to stand on, the cold preventing the usual warmup that follows. She’s right. This isn’t a normal snow event. This is the worst ice storm in 30 years.
I’m not asking you to stop holding the city accountable. Ask questions. Report problems. Expect better. Push for a real after-action review when this is over.
But before you post that angry comment, ask yourself:
Is this accountability, or is this cruelty? Would I say this to their face?
Am I helping, or just venting?
What am I actually doing right now? Have I checked on a neighbor? Shoveled for someone who can’t? Signed up to volunteer? Or am I just sitting inside, warm, telling other people they’re not doing enough?
I’m asking everyone to do their best. That includes me. That includes you.
What does your best look like this week?
What you can do right now
ALIVE! needs help shoveling out their shelter at 125 S. Payne St. — the sidewalk in front and side entrances along the building. If you’re in Old Town and able-bodied, show up.
The Snow Buddy program matches volunteers with low-income seniors, homebound or disabled residents who can’t clear their own sidewalks. One resident told Volunteer Alexandria, “I’m 92, and I was so scared about how I would get out. You are like angels.” Sign up at volunteeralexandria.org.
Check on someone who lives alone. Shovel a path for a neighbor who can’t. Bring patience to every interaction.
The roads will clear. The trash will get picked up. We’ll get through this.
How we treat each other while we do? That’s what we’ll remember.
What a thoughtful post, thank you. And thank you for reminding folks how to make things better, too. Really appreciate your reporting
Well said. Frustration gets the best of us sometimes.
Plows were going strong in Warwick Village last night. The ice and continued cold is tough to contend with. Stay warm and be kind.