“Respect the chair or else.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
That warning is echoing across Pittsburgh as the city enters its fifth day of snow-covered streets and a full-on battle for parking in some neighborhoods. With curbside spaces buried and hard won, the iconic Pittsburgh parking chair is officially back and in action across the city.<\/p>\n
It’s the law of the land, or at least city streets.<\/p>\n
For some residents, the practice is tradition. For others, it’s a power move. Either way, locals strongly advise against ignoring it.<\/p>\n
One resident summed up the frustration many feel after hours of digging out.<\/p>\n
“You spend so much time digging out for someone to just come and steal it,” said Chris Bishop. “It feels like the biggest insult you could give.”<\/p>\n
For many, saving a space is about survival after stepping out into feet of snow.<\/p>\n
“Tables and chairs, it’s all we have to be able to come back home,” said Chris Bishop, a Morningside resident.<\/p>\n
The markers are everywhere, and they’re no longer limited to chairs. Cones, tables, and just about anything have joined the mix.<\/p>\n
“I feel like it counts,” said Tia Churchfield, another Morningside resident who put out a table. “My chairs are too big to go on the street, and the only thing I could pick up was the table. People have been respectful of the table so far.”<\/p>\n
But if you missed the memo, things might not end well.<\/p>\n
Laura Nolen, who moved to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia six years ago, learned the lesson during this storm.<\/p>\n
“When it snowed, I thought I was being neighborly and doing some Fred Rogers work and shoveled out some spots,” said Nolen. “Now, there are chairs on all of them.”<\/p>\n
Now, she’s parking several blocks away.<\/p>\n
“I have the moral quandary of, do I go put a chair in something someone else shoveled?” said Nolen. “I don’t think that’s the etiquette, so I might have to.”<\/p>\n
For now, Nolen is choosing kindness and shoveling out another space.<\/p>\n
Others, however, warn that breaking the “Yinzer law” can come with consequences. Online payback stories circulating on social media serve as cautionary tales.<\/p>\n
“I’ve actually thought about that,” said Churchfield. “I guess if I knew their car, I’d be knocking on your door.”<\/p>\n
Even Pittsburgh’s mayor understands the message.<\/p>\n
“Obviously, in Pittsburgh, there’s a lot of chairs popping up on your street,” said Mayor Corey O’Connor. “So please respect the chair law in the neighborhoods or whatever you want to call it.”<\/p>\n
In the end, the rule is simple: If you didn’t shovel it, don’t steal it. Respect the chair and be a good neighbor.<\/p>\n
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