Spring Street Closed for WSSU Homecoming Parade

I found signs on Spring Street on Friday which were an early warning sign that the road was going to be closed off again. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened on Saturday morning.

I get that I live right off Fourth Street, an ideal location for much that is fun to do in the greater downtown area. And I know that this close proximity means occasional inconveniences for me as a downtown dweller. What does get me irked is that the kind of event that requires a permit for street closures is probably planned well in advance. Why is it so hard for these closures to be communicated to the residents and property owners? And while I have generally liked the members of the Winston-Salem Police Department's downtown bike patrol, I can safely assert that the motorcycle cop manning the barricade at the end of Spring Street this morning was equipped with a butt on his shoulders when I told him my general contractor would need to get through.

"How long have you lived in that house?" he asked me.

"Since 2003," I told him.

"Then you should know that the Homecoming Parade is going to be happening," he sniffed, as though it's my fault that I do not track down every possible occasion and reason for Spring Street to be closed off.


When I've planned an event weeks in advance, or scheduled something important related to the house (general contractor, tree removal, furniture delivery), it is not really helpful for there to be NO notice of a street closure. I think it's time for a letter to my city councilwoman about the frequency of street closures and the dearth of resident notifications.


Ah, but this street closure was for a very good reason: it was Winston-Salem State University's Homecoming parade, which is always a fun event to witness from the north windows of the Roediger House or to look down on the staging of from the upstairs porch.