Commonwealth Avenue

An outraged citizen posts a photo of a ticketed car on Comm. Ave. in the Back Bay this morning:

Really Boston? The morning after the lock down? So many cars this early morning w these on. As a resident of this city I'm appalled. (My car is parked in my own private spot but I'm still enraged to see these.) please forgive parking violations this week.

At 8:54 a.m., Rebecca, who took this photo, reported she'd been standing at the Sutherland Road Green Line stop for more than 20 minutes, and that she was a mere newcomer there - she could still feel her feet.

At the very same time, Katherine Delaney posted a photo showing things were almost as bad on the Red Line - even more crowded, but at least a train was running.

This comes the day after T General Manager Beverly Scott said she's giving serious consideration to fare hikes of up to 33% and delaying needed maintenance starting July 1.

Transit Police say a driver trying to make a left turn ahead of a trolley was cited for a collision last night that left his car with damage, sent a couple of people to the hospital for observation but left the trolley unscathed.

Collision. Photo copyright Scott Eisen. More photos.

An outbound Green Line trolley hit a car around 8:10 p.m. at Comm. Ave. and Pleasant Street.

B Line service was halted; Comm. Ave. outbound was shut. An MBTA spokesman said the cause of the "minor accident" remains under investigation. One of the two people in the car complained of back pain.

Mike Bergquist stopped to snap this truck wedged in a snow ridge on Comm. Ave. by Joshua Tree this morning.

Clearing the tracks along Comm. Ave. in Brighton. Photo by MBTA.

The MBTA says it won't restore service until at least tomorrow.

Matt Laskowski photographed Comm. Ave. at Griggs around 7:30 p.m.

Some interesting photos from back when the T still ran PCC trolleys on the Green Line.

This car.

UPDATE: An MBTA spokesman reports: "There was no damage to the tracks. No injuries. The auto was towed away, and trolley service resumed. It's unclear how this atom-splitter ended up on the Green Line tracks.

Earlier:
Woman claims GPS told her to drive on Beacon Street trolley tracks.

Derailed trolley. Photo by Steve Burns.

Around 8:25 p.m. Jonathan D. Roger reports:

Inbound B line train derailed --large flash with a lot of sparks and the back car on the train derailed.

The trolley is partly blocking the outbound tracks and the T is shutting off power - one of the trolley's pantographs is entangled with the overhead lines. None of the roughly 30 passengers in the first car reported injuries; the second car, which actually jumped the tracks, was empty except for the operator - who was taken to St. Elizabeth's Hospital for evaluation.

Comm. Ave. in Allston, of course.

Naama Goldstein, who lives on Comm. Ave., writes her city councilor about the problems caused by the Monday Aerosmith concert - more specifically, the way the entire street was shut down without any coordination with Boston Public Schools to deal with kids who take buses to school:

The Daily Free Press updates us on the condition of Brenda Wynne, the Stingray Body Art co-owner seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver on Comm. Ave. in Brighton on Oct. 31. Benefits being planned for her in January at the Brighton Music Hall and she hopes to be out of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital to attend. Still no sign of the coward who hit her, though.

At 7:20 a.m., jegerentwit tweets from the Allston war zone (where police will be asking "papers, please" for anybody claiming to live there):

Scores of tow trucks on Comm toward BC. Anyone towed from Comm Av should consider suing Aerosmith & naming Boston.

Dan Walker, who lives right there and doesn't understand the angst, responds:

It's posted all over the street and BPD left flyers on the cars parked on comm on Friday. It's your own fault if you got towed.

BPD issued a statement today:

So, if you're planning on stopping by 1325 Commonwealth Ave to check out the show, the Boston Police Department kindly asks you to be on your best behavior. Said Superintendent-in-Chief Daniel Linskey, "In a city as in rich in tradition and history as ours, it's always nice to honor and celebrate our own. We’re encouraging and expecting good behavior by all those who attend the free concert and we're certainly hoping people behave in such a way as to make our city and Aerosmith proud."

Police had no advice for commuters and Green Line riders who will be forced to find other ways to get where they're going for several hours (click on the link above to see the full list of road closures - it's more than just Comm. Ave.).

The Globe reports Comm. Ave. in Allston will be shut between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. between Harvard and Allston - and the Green Line shut starting at 10:30 a.m. - so Aerosmith can give a free concert in front of their first home in the Boston area.

Police are looking for the driver of a white SUV that hit Brenda Wynne around 4 p.m. yesterday on Commonwealth Ave. near its intersection with Kelton and Warren streets.

Friends say Wynne, who owns Stingray Body Art, had her pelvic bone broken in three places, as well as her nose and leg. She also suffered a large gash in her forehead from where she hit the SUV's windshield - which is now cracked.

Wynne was already battling kidney disease. One friend says:

Brenda is the most positive happy person in the world and with her current health issues and being unable to work anymore this is just so damn tragic.

Friends are asking anybody who may have seen the collision to contact Boston Police. You can contact the anonymous tip line by calling 800-494-TIPS or texting TIP to CRIME (27463).

On Oct. 19, an out-of-control SUV crashed into Stingray.

Matt Laskowski looked out his window this morning at a monsoon along Comm. Ave. in Allston. He reports:

Alert broadcast on BU cable system tonight. Photo by Ana Maria Pulgarin.

Boston University Police alerted students tonight that a BU student was held up around 8:40 p.m. in the driveway of 808 Commonwealth Ave.

Her attackers were described as two young black men in hoodies, one with a gun. The previous three attacks, all in the same general area of Brookline just past the Boston line, involved three young black males - one estimated to be just 13.

Iseut reports on a couple of apples she picked from a tree at the corner of Comm. Ave. and Mass. Ave. Yes, our Comm. Ave. and Mass. Ave.

We ate these in a yummy compote with local garden plums and quince.

BU Today reports BU Police stopped 152 bicyclists over three days last week and issued ten of them tickets for running red lights or other infractions.

The Daily Free Press reports police say a BU student was taken to St. Elizabeth with neck, back and knee injuries yesterday after she tried but failed to beat an SUV through a left turn on Comm. Ave. near Kenmore Square.

The Daily Free Press reports a BU alumnus who tried crossing in front of a 57 bus at Commonwealth and Babcock yesterday morning was taken away in bad shape. The T says the bus had the green light.

Smoke was seen billowing off the roof of a building located on Commonwealth Avenue, this afternoon. Twitterer @alertnewengland reported that a rooftop air conditioning unit (presumably, not a window unit, but the condenser) had caught fire.

While that Twitter report had the fire located at 13 Commonwealth Ave, the location of the fire from my cub reporter observance was on the even-side of the street. It was either 16 or 18 Comm Ave.

Google Maps shows several a/c units on the roof of #16 - no signs of any grills, though ...

Mats Tolander reports on (and photographs) an incident on Comm. Ave. by BU's Warren Towers yesterday that ended with an MBTA cop spraying a belligerent guy in the face with pepper spray and cuffing him.