Driving help

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone:

I have jury duty in Framingham tomorrow at 8:30 am. I'll be driving myself there from Teele Sq. I don't really drive often, and am generally petrified. Also, I think it's supposed to snow tomorrow. Awesome.

Anyway, my question is this: how long should I give myself to get there? I have no concept of how long this might take. I'm planning to go Rt 2>95>90>30W. Google Maps says 30 minutes; I was going to give myself an hour. Is traffic usually awful then? How long should I give myself?

Thanks for the suggestions :).

ETA: I managed to get there and back without causing any major traffic incidents -- hooray! It took me about an hour to get there, and traffic wasn't too bad. Thank you all SO much for the help!!!

Comments

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Yes, traffic is awful then. It will take you at least 30 minutes to just get to the Pike with 2->95->90 during morning rush hour.

I would give yourself an hour. I figure you'll have a 35% chance of taking longer than that, but that it doesn't really matter because the beginning of jury duty is watching videos and filling out paperwork and stuff.

Personally I would pick up the Pike in Boston or Cambridge or Newton to skip 95 altogether, but I am a crazed Bostonian, so you should not necessarily follow my route choices.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Google Maps also suggests taking Mass Ave to Memorial, crossing the river at Western Ave, and getting on the Pike back there. Do you think that's better?

Sorry to ask such ridiculous questions -- I know my way around Boston really well, even in cars, I'm just skittish about being the actual driver. A warning to all going this way tomorrow :).

[dariusk.livejournal.com]

From Teele those two will be about the same. If you were in Central or even Porter I would definitely do Memorial Drive.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Do you think that's better?

Depends, are you more skittish about highway driving and merging (the 2->95->90) route or wicked crowded stop & go city traffic?

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Yes.

... but I think I'm going to go through Harvard, because I drive that way a lot, and it doesn't worry me too much.

[dcltdw]

35%? Not 33% or 37%? ;)

I agree that about an hour sounds right; I'd probably allocate 1:15 to ensure that I'm not late, but then, I don't mind being early by 20 minutes, whereas I tend to be stressed if I'm late by more than 5. If it's snowing, it's not inconceivable it'd take closer to 1:30 to get there.

While cutting through Boston/Cambridge would probably be faster, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who doesn't drive a lot.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

(My first thought was about a third, but the sentence construction was awkward. I thought, "could I substitute 30%, nah that's not high enough, 40%, nah, that's too high", so I went with 35% because 33% always seems lonely without the .33, and pedantic with it.)

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

Yup, plan on major delays on the 95S part of the route. I agree with chenoameg -- get to the pike some other way than by using 95, and leave no later than 7:45 am.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

I used to commute in that direction. Going out to Framingham, you're going against traffic so it won't be too bad. Your biggest traffic risk is probably getting yourself over to Rt 2. Unless they're going to hold you in contempt of court for being a few minutes late, 7:45 is probably a reasonable time to leave in clear weather or light snow. In heavy snow, all bets are off, so I'd leave around 7:30 and expect them to understand if it takes more than an hour.

[ifotismeni]

at least an hour -- route 2 to 95 gets CRAZY backed up, and again going 95s to 90.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I'd get on the Pike as far east as is feasible, since once you're on, it's a reverse commute, and it's usually not backed up much on the stretch from the city to Rte 128 (which is the worst of it, barring weather/bad accidents).

[dariusk.livejournal.com]

I would say an hour sounds right but give yourself 1:15 especially if the weather is going to be bad.

[genesayssitdown.livejournal.com]

i used to commute that way every day for two years. it sucks. i would give yourself an hour and fifteen minutes; chances are it will only take 45 minutes, but i've spent an hour and a half in traffic before. if you get there with extra time, that just means you can get a coffee and breakfast, and relax for a while before mind-numbing amounts of waiting around bored.

[genesayssitdown.livejournal.com]

i was called for jury duty once when i was 18, i've never been called back!

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

You have, of course, cursed yourself.

[genesayssitdown.livejournal.com]

i might be the only person who actually enjoys jury duty too :(

[ilai]

Nope. I got called for jury duty twice and been impaneled both times... and then I got cut off. I want my voir dire!

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

This is the first time I've been called in my 10.5 years in Boston. So, you know, can't complain, but I do anyway.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

so ridiculous. i got called when i was in college and so i didn't even really live here. (not registered to vote here, not my permanent address, home on weekends and didn't/couldn't stay in the summer, etc.)

fucking long ass day of sitting and doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. eventually i got put on a jury and then the lawyers kicked me off. BUT WHY! i'll never know.

and then naturally, as soon as i officially moved to MA, i got called to jury duty in RI.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

If you leave before 7:30 you will probably be there a couple of minutes early.

If you leave at 7:35 you will be at least 15 minutes late. The 2-to 95-to 90 thing goes all haywire starting at 7:30.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

I think I'm leaving now. I hate driving.

[turil.livejournal.com]

You could take the train...

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

I know, I could have. But that would have meant a 1.21 mile walk from the train, in addition to a 2+ hour commute. Since I'm able to drive, I did. I'm just glad I don't have to do that every day!!!

[antimony.livejournal.com]

Yep. I used to try to get to work in Natick by 8:30 -- it was impossible. I could leave at 7 and get there just before 8, or I could be stuck in traffic forEVER.

[davelew.livejournal.com]

This won't help if you have jury duty tomorrow, but in the future you can always ask to have jury duty moved to a place that's accessible by public transportation. They just assume that everyone has cars and drives every day.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

I got scared off the by INCONVENIENCE IS NOT AN EXCUSE stuff everywhere. Certainly it is inconvenient, but not impossible, for me to get there.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

When I got called to jury duty in Lowell, I was able to get them to change it to Cambridge. I had no car and no one to drive me. I wrote this on the form and they switched me over. I'm sure a lot of people have to do this.

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

I did the same thing, except when I asked them to switch me from Framingham to Cambridge, they were just like "nevermind" and I didn't have to do it at all. WIN!

[turil.livejournal.com]

If you aren't safe driving a car, and it's too expensive to take the train/walk, then that's not just "inconvenience". Seriously...

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm an alright driver. I just don't like doing it and while a lot :).

[trtls.livejournal.com]

I asked to move from Newton to Somerville and they did. My feeling is they are mostly just too lazy to figure out where people actually live and for all they know I could work in Newton. It doesn't hurt to ask and in my case at least, it was very much easier.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

This is absolutely true, but send them a letter. When I had to deal with this ("Show up at Concord at this date or else! KTHXBUHBYE!"), that damn phone line was always busy. I wound up dropping off a letter to the jury duty office in person.

[ron_newman]

isn't this accessible by public transport, though? Red Line to South Station, commuter rail to Framingham.

[davelew.livejournal.com]

It's over a mile from the commuter rail stop to the courthouse. Saying the Framingham courthouse is on the commuter rail is like saying that the Foodmaster on Rt. 16 is on the Red Line.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

you can borrow my GPS if you want.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is really kind of you -- thank you for the offer. Fortunately, I have GPS on my phone, and I have printed out 2 sets of directions, with maps. Ah, neuroses. But I think I'll be OK.

Thank you again! :)

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

If you go via Route 2, I strongly suggest taking Rindge to Alewife -- this minimizes the amount that traffic suckage at Alewife can screw you (I drive through there at around 8:30 daily and at that hour Rindge is dramatically superior to the alternatives; Mass Ave-->16-->2 is usually not terrible but not as good as Rindge, and Broadway-->16-->2 has the potential to leave you mired in suck for 20 minutes).

[solarpanda.livejournal.com]

Not sure where you start, but Mass Ave->Lake St.->2 is my preferred route (or the faster but more complex Mass Ave.->Egerton->Brooks->Lake St.->2). You basically shoot across Alewife Brook Parkway and never have to mess with the WORST INTERSECTION EVER DEVISED (aka Alewife). Similarly, from Teele, I used to take Broadway->Mass Ave (in Arlington)->60->2 and it isn't bad (though 60 can get a little backed up sometimes).

Anyway, I am all about devising better, faster ways to get to Route 2 from Somerville/Cambridge.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

While I haven't done it since they retimed the traffic light, in the past I have gotten stuck for 20+ minutes on Rindge Ave approaching Alewife Brook Parkway during the peak of the AM rush.

[ron_newman]

Did they put you on a jury? Do you need to go back tomorrow?