The DNC and Somerville

[arakasi.livejournal.com]

Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone: "We're going to look at closing neighborhood streets if the gridlock gets so severe that we're facing severe gridlock." Medford may follow suit. More (but not much) info in this Boston Globe article.

Comments

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

What the hell does that sentence even mean?

do i have to explain EVERYTHING?

[arakasi.livejournal.com]

It means that if the gridlock is severe enough to be severely gridlocked in a manner that the mayor judges to be qualificatory of identification as quote unquote severe and also as gridlock, then the gridlock will be severe enough to cause severe gridlock, in which case, he will look at doing something about the gridlock that's severe enough to create the severe gridlock in the first place.

I mean, like, duh.

[To be honest, I didn't even notice that little grammatical circle when I posted that quote. What a sublime example of bureaucrat-speak.]

Re: do i have to explain EVERYTHING?

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Right...like, oh, I dunno, closing streets, maybe. Because nothing helps alleviate gridlock like giving people fewer streets upon which to drive...

Re: do i have to explain EVERYTHING?

[arakasi.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see what you're saying, and maybe I didn't before. I understand the thinking to be something like this:

1. The DNC traffic is being re-routed by the city of Boston.
2. This rerouting shifts the burden of coping with increased traffic out of Boston and into the suburbs.
3. The suburbs are unable to cope with this increased burden due to all their narrow residential streets.
4. The suburbs didn't ask for this so they're going to prevent any of the spillover from entering their own neighborhoods.

So, no, it won't prevent gridlock, it'll just push it further back up the highway. I don't think it's that bad an idea, given the circumstances. It is kind of unfair to ask Somerville and Medford to assume the burden of managing all the traffic that the City usually handles...or fails to handle, perhaps.

Re: do i have to explain EVERYTHING?

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Oh, now see? I didn't get that before...I was mostly pointing out that the man makes no sense when he tries to construct a sentence (gee, he could be President with that skill), and also that closing streets to stop gridlock seems to me a lot like suspending kids who cut school. But I didn't think of it the way you just put it...But you do have a point.

Of course, the city that really needs to hop on that bandwagon is Cambridge...

And they need to shut Davis down to cars and only allow pedestrians and bikes...but that's just because I am fed up with taking my life in my own...feet...everytime I try to go through that labyrinth.

Re: do i have to explain EVERYTHING?

[visage.livejournal.com]

To be fair, it wasn't Curtatone who constructed that sentence...

Re: do i have to explain EVERYTHING?

[csbermack.livejournal.com]

Large chunks of cambridge are already inside the barricade loop, because of where the blocks have been placed. So while there might be some overflow onto local streets, it's not as bad as medford and somerville.

and if they want to shut down davis to cars, they will totally and completely fuck traffic flow in somerville. They'd only be able to do it by constructing a giant loop around the square.

[jaubertmoniker.livejournal.com]

Medford may follow suit? Sweet beef. Not like Medford isn't already gridlocked—has anyone seen the traffic around the Main St. Dunkin Donuts (near 60) in the mornings? It's bad enough already.

Is anyone else as glad as I am to not own a car? Let's hear it for walking.