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City shuts schools Monday and Tuesday
By adamg on Sun, 02/08/2015 - 2:21pm
Mayor Walsh canceled school for the next couple of days and said a city under a snowy siege is going to get tough with people who refuse to shovel and who are responsible for the near complete gridlock across the city on Thursday and Friday.
Walsh said he plans to meet with interim School Superintendent John McDonough this week to talk about how to make up any additional snow days, because the current snow days will push school to June 30, the last day the city can legally hold classes for the current school year.
Police are going to aggressively ticket people who are parked too far from the curb or in crosswalks - and don't even think of blocking the box while driving because if a cop sees you, that's a ticket right there - Walsh said at a press conference.
Police Commissioner William Evans: "If you can't make it across the box, don't do it."
Parking ban on emergency routes goes into effect 4 p.m., ticketing to begin 6 p.m.
Walsh said the city is running out of room at its Franklin Park and South Boston waterfront snow farms and is now running snow melters at the waterfront site to try to make more room for snow. He said the city's begun talking to New York about possibly borrowing additional snow melters later in the week.
Walsh pleaded with local businesses and colleges with their own snow plowing equipment to keep their plows running after they're done with their properties to help the city plow out intersections.
And he said residents and businesses need to shovel out their sidewalks; the city has already issued 1,500 tickets.
He said a particular problem on Beacon Hill has been contractors shoveling out spaces and dumping the snow in public alleys. He said he's begun looking at increasing the fines for shoveling snow into streets.
Walsh said four crews of inmates from the Suffolk County jail will fan out tomorrow to shovel out handicap ramps and pedestrian access at intersections.
City officials say they're seeing an uptick in carbon-monoxide incidents and urged residents to shovel out dryer and other vents and to not start cars without checking to ensure their tailpipes are clear.
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Comments
Delayed release of information
It looks like in the morning, Walsh was already pretty sure that he was going to close the schools for two days, and/or declare a parking ban starting at 4pm. Instead of officially releasing this information to the public, he and his press people again held it back so they could do a "big reveal" with a live press conference at 2 pm. It's 2:30 and they haven't even sent out the phone blast yet.
This is not right. Instead of being considerate to everyone who would benefit from more time to prepare their cars and kids, they're sitting on information for no reason other than putting Walsh's name and face on it.
Snow days
Just got the "phone blast" at about 3:05......
I found out about the parking
I found out about the parking ban at about 1pm when @stacos tweeted about it. Strange that Walsh didn't send out a tweet through the usual channels and have local media broadcast it on a ticker as soon as he had made the decision...
City of Boston should ask
City of Boston should ask Massport to use their large waterfront land next to piers park to dump all of Easties snow..the city should also use land that they own along the waterfront on Border street near McDonalds to dump snow.
Or dump the snow on barges and sail it to nantucket and dump it there.
Looks like Walsh scheduled
Looks like Walsh scheduled another press conference for Monday 3 pm. Will be interesting to find out if it's just a normal press conference, or if they have more 'announcements" of things they should have told everyone earlier.
Good for him.
This time I hope he doesn't wimp out and cancel the parking ban way too early. If I had my way it would extend to non-emergency routes, too. It drives me crazy to see so many cars completely buried that haven't even been dug out since the blizzard. If these people haven't used their cars in over two weeks, they don't need one. They're free to waste their money, but they certainly shouldn't be able to hog a parking space that could be used by someone who truly needs a car.
Not necessarily true...
... before I had a kid, I didn't use my car at all during the week -- and when two 1996 snowstorms came back-to-back, I got ticketed for not shoveling out my car in Somerville. I won on appeal (ordnance states "48 hours after end of snowfall", there weren't 48 hours between storms).
My sister's car got plowed in during the same storms and it took us 4 days of borrowing metal shovels and hacking at the ice pack to get her out.
It would make more sense for any city to start building municpal garages and opening them up to residents for snowstorms (free meters until 12 hours after snowfall ends!) and banning at least one side of street parking so that they can plow to the curb. You wouldn't need spacesavers if the plows could clear the road to the curb, eh?
Unpopular Opinion
This is probably an unpopular opinion: No, they shouldn't build garages. Cities should be doing more to discourage car ownership.
We're dealing with a tragedy of the commons. Car owners don't bear the negative externalities of car ownership: cars slow down the buses, degrade air quality, negatively impact land usage and endanger cyclists and pedestrians. Look at pictures of Boston from the early 1900s. Before the rise of the automobile our streets were public places, not just accommodations for the car. The worse it is to have a car in the city, the better quality of life for everyone else and the easier it becomes to get by without a car.
Consider the #1 bus. It's a 4 mile run that takes 41 minutes on a good day, or under 6mph. A slow jogger wins out against the bus. Basically the only place the #1 moves faster than you is along the Mass Ave bridge. If you can get the bus up to an average of 15mph, the trip time suddenly falls to 16 minutes. Car ownership is nevertheless inshrined as American and there's no political will to change given the sad bleating of folks like Markk02474.
Not unpopular here
Two things that could improve life almost instantly:
1) Don't some cities have an ironclad bus right of way? If a bus is pulling out of the stop, you've got to let it pull out. That this isn't a law here is madness; of course it could be one of the 10,000 driving laws that don't get enforced because enforcing laws is hard or something. 50 people on a bus should have absolute right of way over 50 people in 48 cars.
2) CONGESTION CHARGE WITH MONEY GOING TO MORE BUSES
How many times does the #1 stop?
Is it as awful as the 86? I live on Market St and it stops both in front of the Dunks at North Beacon and in front of WGBH!
How about the 57? Stops at Brighton/Allston, Brighton/Harvard, AND Brighton/Linden! People not being able to walk a frickin' block is the problem, not car traffic. And if you eliminated the Brighton/Linden stop, you have three more parking spaces. Believe me, buses get plenty of love. And they still don't pull into the expanded spaces when there's no snow on the ground.
#1 & CT1 Busses
I usually take either of these busses home, but every day last week, walking home beat the busses every time. 75% of the sidewalks were pretty well cleared, but like the rest of the city, Massachusetts Avenue has been a parking lot from 6am to 9pm daily. Keep the parking ban in place on the major arteries throughout the week.
I'm shocked parking is
I'm shocked parking is allowed along Memorial Drive right now. It's down to 1.5 lanes.
I agree with you to an extent
I agree with you to an extent. When I lived in Cambridge and worked in the BMC area, I used to just walk in the winter. The #1 bus was generally a last resort option for me. I'll never forget the time a fellow passenger threatened to assault me over a seat when I was on the way to get surgery, fun times. That said, I'm glad it exists. I find the ride tends to be a bit better heading back towards Harvard Square, minus the stretch between Memorial Drive and Albany Street in Cambridge. (Admittedly my perception is a bit skewed because I HATED my job and was always relieved to go home after).
I don't think the MBTA in the state it is does much to discourage car ownership. It doesn't run all night which really sucks for people who work odd shifts. I'm quite glad I didn't end up selling my car, I'd never be able to get to work otherwise.
I know! Who needs a car, when
I know! Who needs a car, when we have such reliable public transportation.
If more people
especially the more well-heeled people who can actually afford a car took public transportation, don't you think it would improve?
Not necessarily.
If you are suggesting that "well heeled" people would not tolerate the current state of affairs at the MBTA, and would become "squeaky wheels", then maybe. I also think that there are a significant amount of MBTA patrons who do own cars and it has not seemed to make a difference. If that is not what you were suggesting with your comment; please enlighten me. I for one, will never solely rely on the MBTA, I don't think there is anything that will change my mind.
I would say build off-street
I would say build off-street parking in neighborhoods where possible (and require it of any new development) and combine with converting the streets in the corresponding area to no parking or one-side parking.
Somewhat off topic
What if the city built a covered long term storage facility for cars just like at Logan. Residents who own a car but not generally use it could store it there for a lower monthly fee than Boston parking. The facility would have to be somewhat outside of the city, but on public transportation, as not to compete with local parking facilities that offer monthly parking.
Boston could offer college students discounts to park there rather than in Boston. It would be an inconvenience to access but the car would be safe and snow free.
Zipcar
Boston is already planning on expanding its relationship with Zipcar which serves a similar purpose. Car sharing services are a good solution to the way many people in the city use cars. It would be nice if there was more options beyond zipcar (the Enterprise thing is horrible) but it makes a lot more sense for the city to give parking spots to cars that will serve dozens of people.
They can start by getting rid of the $10 penalty
Boston charges Zipcar users $10 (the convention center fee that's also charged on regular rentals) the first time they get a Zipcar within the city of Boston for a given calendar year. (That's admittedly better than doing it per reservation, at least.) Way to encourage me to use cars in Cambridge or Brookline instead!
Agreed
It's a state law, not a city one. Call your rep.
Actually...
...after reading all the horrible ideas I have read on this site this may be the best idea I have seen. Congrats! Finally a truly unique idea that actually solves SOMETHING! Now, how do we pay for it..?
Bond Issue to construct...
... make the garage spaces metered (or timed ticket) space like street spaces, site them where current park-n-ride or metered surface lots are; city residents park free during snow emergencies. Pay if you don't have a resident's parking sticker.
The meter revenues will take care of the maintenance and pay back the bond. We'll save money on plowing (by being able to plow to the curb) and make money when businesses can actually be reached after the storm (enhanced sales tax revenue).
However, it requires thinking like Main Street instead of Wall Street, so it won't happen. Alas.
Big garages are too expensive
MBTA spent about 35 million dollars to build a 500 car garage, recently. That's about what you are looking at to build a municipal garage of real size.
You ain't recovering that 35 million from metered spaces while covering depreciation and maintenance too. Besides, to even get close, you'd have to charge more than your typical on-street space (free or metered) and so nobody would want to use the garage. Losing proposition all around. Municipal garages hardly ever make money and are usually a major drag.
How many millions of dollars do you expect the city to waste providing "free parking" (or cheap parking) when there's so many other worthy needs?
It ain't worthwhile.
can you imagine
the town that would want to host such a thing, particularly since it doesn't benefit them?
It's not a bad idea - I know
It's not a bad idea - I know this is a much smaller-scale example, but UMass Amherst does something like this - you can store your car in a big lot at the edge of campus, about 25 minutes walking distance or 10 mins by bus. So, you can't just conveniently hop in & go, but it's easy enough to get access to your car if you know you're going to run an errand.
So you think there should be
So you think there should be some sort of socialist style parking panel where people would present their case to the city and the panel would determine whether you truly 'need a car'.
So if there is any way for you to get to your job without a car (carpooling, T, shuttle van, etc.) you would not be granted a permit? How about starting with these famlies who insist on having 2-3 cars? How about charging $100 for a permit to limit the amount of people who don't really need multiple cars? Renting our more spaces to rideshare is a great plan, since 1 rideshare space serves many people, but one space otherwise serves 1-2 people (only 1 if space savers are used).
I'd love to be able to use my
I'd love to be able to use my car, however I can't get it out of its spot, similar to half a dozen other cars on my street. The city only plowed a cars-width of road down the middle of the street, leaving 5ft of plowed snow/ice 3ft high next to my car, and the snow on the sidewalk side is higher than my car, probably 5-6ft high. There's literally no where to put the snow if I tried shoveling out.
Could not agree more, get all
Could not agree more, get all the cars off the roads. Parking ban should be in effect everywhere.
Oh, and how about actually plowing the side streets this time?
Keep Calm
...and shovel on. Common people we are Boston Strong.
BOSTON STRONG!
BOSTON STRONG!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ywEvWnmSBQ
David Ortiz should sell
David Ortiz should sell autographed snowshovels with "This is our F*&%ing City" written on them.
While they're patrolling the city
Have them give every kid under 18 they see shovelling out a sidewalk a "Get Out of One of Our 32 Inevitable Makeup Days in June Free" card
Walsh said he plans to meet
How about we start with killing off the Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day holidays? Yes, I know, they're citywide and not just school holidays. But we have to start somewhere.
Read
Read any book on the American Revolutionary War and you would be wondering why these two holidays aren't National holidays. Heroes lost their lives and their legacy is forgotten because of people like you.
Everyone from the time of the
Everyone from the time of the Revolutionary War lost their lives anyway. If they didn't, they'd be like 300 years old now.
Stop blaming the residents
I know the snow has been relentless, but I have never seen so many roads made unpassable by a lack of proper plowing. I was in a cab on Berkeley the other day - and the road was down to 1 lane as we passed over Comm Ave, where there is never any parking. What is the city's excuse for not snowing out that road? And how about Boylston -- where there was a parking ban for 2 days after the last storm?
This is more than just the outcome of a historic snowfall. There should be more trucks and equipment out there every night. Somebody is not doing their job.
Can the Gov activate the
Can the Gov activate the National Guard to help with removal operations?
That's difficult. The
That's difficult. The National Guard helps out in cases of disaster relief, where lives are at risk. I've also seen National Guard doing weekend warrior duty helping out on volunteer activities (for example, National Trails Day, building waterbars and clearing brush and so on). I'm not sure that snow removal really justifies the use of the Guard. If the governor decides to use them, isn't that a bit of a slippery slope, where there would be a precedent to treat the Guard merely as a convenient auxiliary labor force.
Perhaps heavy equipment?
Maybe the Guard has access to more heavy equipment?
I dont think Guard members should be shoveling, but maybe instead of the military giving police forces surplus armored vehicles, they could spare some dump trucks and front end loaders?
24" of snow on top of what we've got will most likely put lives at risk and I think this may now qualify as a disaster.
i like the fact that
i like the fact that prisoners will help out.
Prisoners love the chance to be outdoors and are paying dues back to society by doing more than idly sitting.
"Police are going to
"Police are going to aggressively ticket people who are parked too far from the curb or in crosswalks"
I'll believe that when I see every single car parked on Dot Ave with a bright orange envelope on the windshield.
Already past June 30th
Actually, on Tuesday (the 8th snow/ cold day) BPS will be over the number of days we can make up by June 30th.
From BPS website: We are obligated to provide 180 days of instructional time for students; therefore, we will need to find an additional day to make up for Tuesday's missed classes. As we do so, we will also be creating a plan in case more snow days are needed this winter. Currently, all options in terms of available days are under consideration, including Evacuation Day (3/17), Bunker Hill Day (6/17), Good Friday (4/3), and vacation breaks. We will work with various school unions to establish a calendar for the remainder of the year, while prioritizing holidays such as Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day. We will continue to update families as we have more information.
Personally...
...I've always been pretty shocked and not a little disturbed that Good Friday is an official school holiday. I can rationalize enough of a secular aspect to the modern Christmas -- at least the way we celebrate it these days -- to justify a legal recognition. But Good Friday and Easter Sunday and all the Holy Week stuff is, in my opinion, way too Christian-centric to be state-sanctioned.
It's not just Boston, but Somerville, too,
does a rather lousy job of snow removal. I wish that they'd hire more manpower to remove the excess snow and make getting around, by walking, etc., easier. There's too much graft, politics and patronage, which is at the root of this lazy irresponsibility.