Hey, there! Log in / Register
Jammedachusetts Avenue
By adamg on Sun, 08/16/2015 - 1:37pm
mgH gives us the Mass. Ave. traffic view around 1:30 p.m., notes the road is backed up across the river into Cambridge, warns motorists to avoid the Back Bay at all costs. Apparently, a lot of people didn't get word about the Dominican parade down Boylston.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
It's those Damn Tax free Weekend Shoppers...
....
Parade?
Dominical fest? http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/07/17/boston-summer-festivals-dominican-...
Really, really wish city did a bit more to notify when there is a planned event. Signboards at the very least. cityofboston.gov home page. Twitter is a good start, though.
Yep, that's it, thanks
City traffic advisory.
I dunno, Gaffin
I work in the Back Bay, and other parades (Greek Independence, Gay Pride, professional championships) that use Boylston Street had better notification.
Besides, I thought the D.R. Parade went through the South End. Nothing against the new route, but this seems like a change that took people by surprise.
Drivers had two years of
Drivers had two years of notice that the Casey overpass was being torn down yet thousands of them still thought it was a good idea to drive towards it during rush hour when construction started. And based on all the cars in bike only lanes I don't think text based signs work with local drivers.
Two years' notice, eh?
So, back in April of 2013 there were billboards put up saying that the demolition of the Casey Overpass was going to begin in Spring of 2015? Funny, I remember reading here last fall that work was going to begin in the winter, which of course never happened. I also only saw the date sured up weeks before it happened.
God, you are an annoying counterpoint to Markk.
Dominican Parade?
Isn't the Dominican Parade going through the area?
Add a
Red Sox game to the mix and this is what you get.
WTF?
This was the most poorly advertised event to motorists that I've ever seen in this city. No temporary signs, ZERO advanced warning, no announcements over the radio or in news beyond the Dominican community from what I gather. Such a mess today.
Also good to notify the neighbors
The Allston-Brighton Day Parade doesn't even tell those of us who live in Allston or Brighton when the parade is going to be. We find out when we try to go run weekend errands in September and find Comm Ave blocked off.
Get those Dominicans spending on Newbury street
by bringing them to the area, because others will likely hit the traffic and then go shop elsewhere!
At least this will be a safer event than holding it in Dorchester or Roxbury.
Stay classy, my overly
Stay classy, my overly judgmental friend. I'm a Dominican-American and proud Bostonian. You're probably one of those pussified NIMBYs from Brookline or whatever suburbs that likes to think of themselves as a "true Bostonian".
Actually....
... he's from Arlington. ;-}
Traffic and ethnicity
Two of Markkkk's favorite things to rant about.
Because Jesus was a white American in a car.
At this point, I would love to
tie you naked to a telephone pole in the middle of Bromley-Heath on a hot day and write "Fuck all y'all" in Sharpie on your stomach.
Thank you.
Really?
Threatening violence because of something someone said that you don't like. Lovely.
Ok, fine!!
I'll use soft ropes! Happy now?!
And weren't there
some recommendations to reduce the Mass. Ave. bridge to one lane of car traffic at either end?
What difference would that make?
Actually, it was that way for over a decade. Buses couldn't use it, either. The world continued to turn, people just planned around it.
But this jam up would not be any better or worse if it was that way again, because the parade blockage is the rate controlling factor. The number of lanes on the bridge is irrelevant in this instance.
Bus Service Would Be Much Faster If Mass Ave Was Just One Lane …
… and by this, I mean, one through-lane in each direction. At some intersections, there might be additional turn-only lanes, but otherwise, just one lane for motor vehicles in each direction.
If this were implemented, those single lanes of traffic would move at least twice as fast as two parallel lanes going in the same direction currently do— maybe even faster!
The trade-off is that excess traffic would queue on the streets leading into Mass Ave. Yet, by virtue of already being on the street, busses would have priority.
Best of all, by allowing fewer cars to pointlessly queue on Mass Ave, there'd be room for wider sidewalks and safe, separated bike lanes.
Yes
Not sure I agree about the separate bike lanes but having dedicated bus lanes makes a lot of sense even if it will mean long delays for those in private cars. It's unfair that 50 people on a bus need to sit in traffic because a few single occupancy private vehicles.
bus riders...
Actually, it'd be much quicker if you cycled. Just saying.
On Mass Ave During Rush Hour, Walking Is Faster Than The Busses
No, Unless A Bus Is Coming Through Every Few Seconds ...
... I don't believe bus lanes would make sense on Mass Ave. They don't even work very well for the Silver Busses on Washington Street— a road with but a fraction of the traffic of Mass Ave.
With fewer motor vehicles of all kinds jamming into every intersection, the busses would move along quickly with everyone else in the single, through-traffic lanes.
Bus lanes
One, exactly.
Two, the higher amount of traffic on Mass Ave than Washington street means bus lanes make even more sense, because they increase the throughput of the road, when you count it by people and not vehicles. Combined, the 1, CT1, and M2 buses move about 20,000 people/day across the bridge, compared about 25,000 in private vehicles. If the buses were less encumbered by traffic and signals, i.e., if there were bus lanes and transit signal priority, they would move even more because more people would choose the bus, because it would be faster.
(main source: The Amateur Planner: http://amateurplanner.blogspot.com/2015/08/its-tim... )
Reality check
Bicyclists and pedestrians don't respect transit prioritized traffic signals any more than signals that treat everyone equally, so buses will still have to contend with them just like now.
Neither do motorists
Massholes all the way down.
No need
to institute traffic calming measures if the traffic is crawling or at a standstill. And it is like that quite frequently.
Yes ... and no
Speed control where traffic exits the bridge (often going 40 mph) and enters a deadly intersection and typical box blocking backup would be very welcome. If it is already backed up, drivers won't much notice a set of 20mph speed humps approaching the intersection. If it isn't, they will learn to slow it down.
Also, it isn't always like this. Try 6:30 in the morning. That's when the speeds off the bridge can get deadly.
The onliest thing missing from this
Is a good Storrowing!
The Dominican Fest
just turned into a mini riot.
Oh, what a surprise
I am just shocked. Never saw that coming!
Yeah--if only they could behave like
All the (at least temporarily) Irish people at the St. Patrick's Day parade. No law-breaking, vulgarity, disgusting behavior there--no sireee.
The festival actually wasn't
The festival actually wasn't a "riot", you insipid-minded Nimb. People were actually respectful and abided to the time change. Obviously, there was disappointment albeit folks still followed through with instructions. My God, just say you hate us Dominicans or non-whites and end it at that.
Either your comment is misplaced or
your sarcas-o-meter needs a tweak. But "insipid minded nimb..."--props.
Inconvenience and aggravation
Inconvenience and aggravation caused by these parades greatly outweighs the enjoyment of them. Between the minor holiday parades and all of the 5k's and charity walks, there's some poorly publicized traffic nightmare every weekend.
If only we had a wide urban road, with wide grassy shoulders that was regularly closed to vehicle traffic on Sundays. If only...
Those 'bikes' in the bike lane look suspect....
What kind of bike stops at a red light like that? Behind the stop-line and everything?