They have to have it clear by the time the traffic hits
Obviously you did enough driving while you were here to appreciate how nasty the streets can get. They are a whole lot nastier when the extra lanes have parked cars and tow-truck operations going on in them.
My favorite peeve is small towns that change the speed limit by 15 or so mph, up and down, every 50 yards where the highway goes through the center of their town. They can write a ticket on pretty much every traveler that passes through. Happened to me in New Mexico a couple years ago. And yes, there's no good way to fight the ticket after you are home from your vacation.