Abingdon Police Department
For Immediate RelEASE
Traffic Advisory for Abingdon Kiwanis
Christmas Parade
The Abingdon
Kiwanis Christmas Parade is set for Saturday, December 7th. The parade begins
at 6:00 p.m. however, street closures will occur earlier to allow the parade to
line up.
Be
alert for pedestrians and prepare for detours, delays, and officers directing
traffic.
If you are
traveling through Abingdon, or plan to attend the parade, you are encouraged to
leave early enough to ensure that you reach your destination on time. Above
all, be prepared to wait. Traffic will be heavy and there will be a large
number of pedestrians in the downtown area.
Officers
deployed for this event have certain priorities; specifically pedestrian safety
and traffic flow. Please do not honk your horn or attempt to
initiate conversation with officers directing traffic. Traffic will
be too heavy for officers to answer questions from each passing car while
avoiding traffic coming from the opposite direction. Yelling obscenities at the
officers as you pass or drive away also does little good. No matter how you
feel about the officer not letting you go the direction you want, screaming
profanities out your car window will only attract negative attention. If you
feel the need to yell, just yell Merry Christmas. Remember that the officers
are in place for the safety of EVERYONE attending the parade, including
themselves.
Street
closures will occur on the following schedule:
- East Main Street will
be closed from Hutton Street to Court Street from 4:00 p.m. until the
parade concludes.
- Motorists needing
access to this area of East Main Street should use exit 17 from Interstate
81 to access East Main Street. East
Main Street from Court Street to Cummings Street will be closed to traffic
at 5:45 p.m. to clear the parade route.
- Motorists
needing to access the Barter Theatre, Barter Stage 2 or the Martha Washington
Inn before 5:45 p.m. should plan to arrive before that time.
- West Main Street from
Cummings Street to Route 19 will be closed to eastbound traffic at 5:45
p.m.
- Westbound traffic from Court Street to Route 19 will
be allowed to use West Main Street until the parade approaches.
The Code of
Virginia addresses drivers who do not obey officers, ignore their signals,
drive around barricades or use profanity in public:
§
46.2-834. Signals by law-enforcement officers, crossing guards, and flaggers.
A.
Law-enforcement officers may assume control of traffic at any intersection,
regardless of whether such intersection is controlled by lights, controlled by
other traffic control devices, or uncontrolled. Whenever any law-enforcement
officer so assumes control of traffic, all drivers of vehicles shall obey his
signals.
B. Law-enforcement
officers and uniformed school crossing guards may assume control of traffic
otherwise controlled by lights, and in such event, signals by such officers and
uniformed crossing guards shall take precedence over such traffic control
devices.
§ 46.2-852
Reckless driving; general rule.
Irrespective
of the maximum speeds permitted by law, any person who drives a vehicle on any
highway recklessly or at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger the life,
limb, or property of any person shall be guilty of reckless driving.
§ 18.2-388.
Profane swearing and intoxication in public; penalty.
If any
person profanely curses or swears or is intoxicated in public, whether such
intoxication results from alcohol, narcotic drug or other intoxicant or drug of
whatever nature, he shall be deemed guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.
Drive
safely and have a great holiday experience in downtown Abingdon.
