Snow, the morning after

First the good news. The bus is running and some cars are successfully navigating E. Madison St., which appears to be reasonably clear—at least for drivers with experience and the right kind of vehicle. On the other hand, the side streets are a bit treacherous in some places, especially where the thin covering of snow has been removed by traffic to reveal a dangerous layer of ice underneath. Inclines may be tricky.

Here's a good photo of the conditions at 7:00 am on E. Madison, which allows you to judge for yourself whether you want to take the bus or chance it in your car, assuming you need to leave the Park today:

Last evening’s mini-blizzard, with winds reportedly tracking at 20 mph or so, dumped about two inches of snow on the neighborhood. By 6:00, as most commuters had finally struggled home, the Village became pretty quiet, with few people or cars on the streets. Even Cactus! was relatively deserted (an almost unheard of event) when we wandered by, though the usual crowd of four or five was sitting around the fire at The Red Onion.

This morning, the Village is still relatively peaceful. Delivery trucks are making their rounds, and people are heading down for coffee. Be careful out there. The sidewalks are messy.

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Update at 9:30: Our drive downtown to work causes us to reinforce for MPB readers the fact that only drivers with experience and the right vehicle (four-wheel drive) should be on the roads. E. Madison St. is officially closed between Martin Luther King Way and 23rd Avenue E. Those wishing to travel downtown are advised to turn left on MLK rather than continuing up Madison. At Union Street you can turn right with the buses and continue on to downtown. Drive safely and watch out for the crazy kind of pedestrians who cross the icy streets against the light and in front of oncoming cars.