Somerville road closures for DNC

[ceo]

Some useful links for dealing with the DNC:

Here, from the Somerville Journal, is the full list of closures and parking restrictions. Note that Highland Ave westbound will be no-parking as far as Cutter Ave. (where it goes one-way just outside Davis),and the that there will be no access in either direction between Highland and McGrath/O'Brien northbound. Union Square and the intersection of McGrath/O'Brien and Washington St. will see the worst of it— the traffic engineers quoted in the accompanying article did not actually use the phrase "cataclysmic hellhole of suck", but that was about the gist of it.

If you'd like to bike to work but don't want to deal with the traffic, Ron Newman of the Somerville Bicycle Committee has posted a low-traffic, no-hills bike route from Davis Square to Boston.

The T's special commuter rail schedules for the week are here. If you commute on the Red Line, timing your commute so as to avoid passing through Porter when commuter trains are due in is highly recommended, as that's where the Fitchburg Line will terminate.

Comments

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

I hate Porter Square T. I take it only when I have no other choice. Usually I walk to Harvard or Davis...even though I live on Hancock, which becomes White at the border, and which leads pretty much directly to Porter T.

Yeh. I hate it that much.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with Porter? Aside the insanely long escalators, that is.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

It takes forever to get to the platform. I have missed more trains at that station than all the others I use regularly combined. And people have just never been able to grasp the concept of "standing to the right" and make it impossible to get up or down the escalators without saying "excuse me" about a hundred times. When the esclators are running, of course.
Then the commuter rail passengers. Don't get me started. They pour off the train like sheep and act as though they own the station. Um...you wanted to live in the burbs...could you at least act like you're a guest? Better yet, stay in the burbs.

The wait for a train at that station seems longer. And it seems to take longer than it should to get to Harvard. When I started going to work from Harvard instead of Porter, I left only 10 minutes earlier (it's a 20 minute walk for me), but was managing to get to work ahead of when I was getting into work earlier than I had when just walking to Porter (which is a 5 minute walk) and taking the train.

I loathe it.

[bluepapercup]

See, I feel that way about Harvard. I have that same it's-taking-so-damn-long feeling at Harvard fairly often. And, I've missed a ton of trains while running up that stupid, stupid ramp, loaded down with my bags.

Bah.

I guess though, as Bostonians, we have a right to pick a T station to hate.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Heh.

Well, see, I enter Harvard at the Church Street entrance, not that main ramp entrance. Much better (and closer to Porter). I hate the main entrance, too.

It's the escalator stupidity, and the commuter rail idiots that make Porter so vile to me.

So as not to be all negative...I am rather fond of Central...I like that you can go through the turnstile and get right on a train. And the tiles are pretty.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Looks like I will be taking the T to work next week, despite the massive eitage of T riders. I was hoping to avoid that, but all the roads will be so completely fux0red that there will be no other choice. Time to pack the 4th Amendment dildo.

Grrrrrr!!!!!!!!!

[mattlistener.livejournal.com]

Ominous quote from the above-linked Somerville journal page:

Somerville Avenue at Medford Street, westbound - [...] Supplement Patrol Division and intelligence activity will be around railroad yards, hotels, bus stations and other threat locations to maintain readiness to implement Critical Incident Exodus Plan.

"Critical Incident Exodus Plan." Um. Erp.

[ceo]

I'm actually glad they have a Critical Incident Exodus Plan. But, like everyone else, I really hope they don't have to use it.

(though it does sound like it involves parting the waters of the Mystic River to let everyone walk across.)

[bluepapercup]

And then sureptitiously closing them up over our heads while we're walking.

heh.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

excellent, thanks. (and thank god i don't have to take the t or the commuter rail to get anywhere....) fnx had a guy on the radio this morning talking about road closures and whatnot, and he was absolutely no help whatsoever, except apparently 93 isn't closed all the time. (but when is it open? and in what direction? i have no idea.)

[ceo]

93 southbound is closed from Exit 32 (Rte. 60) in Medford to Exit 20 (Mass. Pike). It will be restricted to two lanes south of Exit 37C (Anderson/RTC, just north of 128) for the duration.

93 northbound is closed from Exit 20 (with on-ramps closed south of that all the way down to the Braintree split) to the Assembly Square onramp in Somerville.

Storrow and Memorial Drives inbound will be closed at Western Ave and the BU Bridge respectively. Storrow outbound will be closed from Leverett Circle to Charles Circle.

All of these closures are in effect every night of the convention from 4PM until sometime after the convention closes for the night. The lane restrictions on I-93 will be in effect the entire time.

The Globe has a guide to the major road closures, here.

[bluepapercup]

4 pm until 1 am.

I have to go to Quincy for work on Monday morning, and since I am working alone I've already decided to get there around 5 am, do my work, and hopefully be outta there by lunchtime, missing the horrible (I expect) morning snarl. Heh. We'll see.