emergencies

Finally: An answer to the question of what happens at the Dedham line when the radioactive monster, awakened from its long slumber by a mid-Atlantic earthquake, attacks Boston and we are all forced to take those emergency evacuation routes that head into our neighboring town:

Dedham police will block off major thoroughfares to keep us moving out of Dedham.

We learn this from Brian over at MyDedham, who called up Dedham's Finest after reading about that woman running all the evacuation routes:

... Our strategy, I guess, is to make all these refugees Westwood's problem. ...

Earlier:
I try to evacuate but am swept away on 128.

Today, I needed to make an emergency visit to Toys R Us in Dedham. I took Washington Street south. When I got past the West Roxbury Parkway, I noticed one of those spiffy new Evacuation Route signs. Hmm, I could try out the city's new evacuation plan, which basically calls for people of my ilk (i.e., Roslindalians) to drive south on Washington Street until we get to the Dedham line where, um, well, the city plan doesn's say what we do there, but presumably something good happens. Read more

David, our homegrown homeland-security consultant, thinks the city's evacuation plan should have "DRAFT" slapped on it:

... Some aspects are OK, and it does seem to reflect some post-Katrina re-examination, but on first blush I don't see the kind of flexibility needed to deal with those disasters, whether a Katrina flood or a terrorist attack, that break the rules and don't fit the planners' assumptions. ...

Mats, who once did mobilization planning for the Swedish army, also has questions, but says the plan is better than doing nothing:

... One should be realistic about the prospects for any evacuation plan, but, as that old commandment says, Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. A 70% execution of a 50% plan is a whole lot better than a 100% execution of a 0% plan. ...

The city now has an Emergency Preparedness site that features a downloadable pamphlet on how to prepare for and get through emergencies (go out and buy a three-day supply of water right now), a map of neighborhood emergency shelters and for the Big One, a map showing emergency routes out of the city.

As somebody who would be expected to drive out of town on Washington Street, I guess all I can say is: Been nice knowing you. Washington Street gets clogged up just by people going to the Dedham Mall (and during a hurricane, I imagine it would be flooded out by the Mother Brook). Oh, but wait, there's an answer for that:

What steps are being taken to avoid the gridlock experienced in the evacuations in Texas?
One key aspect of evacuation route planning and execution is control. Evacuees will only be allowed to get on the designated evacuation routes at specific points. By controlling both the volume of traffic and ensuring that services, such as fuel and wreckers are available, we can maximize the throughput on the evacuation routes.