Brendan2k5's Blog

For those of you who will be in Boston this Saturday (August 23), this is for you. Quite a few streets will be closed to traffic at different times of the morning and afternoon. I'll go through them in order. If things change between now and Friday at 9:59PM (The Festivities unofficially start at Midnight!) I'll post about it here. Before I start, unless you live off or on the parade route, the effected streets will be closed to traffic (except foot traffic, of course).

Oh, one more thing: Consult the MBTA website to find out where  buses on the effected streets will be going. Buses will run on a Sunday Schedule so plan accordingly.

-To begin, Blue Hill Avenue from Mattapan Square to the intersection of Warren Street and Washington Street (where across from Walgreens and the Dialysis Center) will be CLOSED starting at midnight on Friday.

 
-Seaver Street (from the intersection of Seaver and Blue Hill) to Humboldt will be closed as it is a secondary route in the event something happens with the originally planned route.

-Talbot Ave is an Access Route to Blue Hill for pedestrians and performers but it will be open, though you may be asked by Police to use Bowdoin Ave (which is also an Access Route to Blue Hill) to get away from the parade route.

-Washington Street (Codman Square to Grove Hall) is a Secondary/Access Route as well. Columbia Road will be closed past the intersection of Columbia Road and Washington Street, as (of course) Blue Hill will Ave. is the main parade route.

-Glenway Street (which I lived on three years ago) will be open but it, too is an access route for Foot traffic and performers. Police will direct you down side streets to avoid Blue Hill Avenue.

-Let's see...I think I covered them all...wait! I remembered one more. Humboldt Ave will be open though it has been set aside as a secondary route if need be.

Oh, and of course the organizers have all the necessary permits to do all this! For one day, the streets of Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan will be flooded with over 500,000 people of all backgrounds for a day of music and excitement. There will be Boston and State Police out in full force to keep the peace and direct traffic.

A friend I know on the force has informed me that officers from all precincts in Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury (even Headquarters) will be on location with officers in Jamaica Plain, South Boston and the South End of standby if need be. They'll not stand for any kind of foolishness, I tell you! I have no idea why I just added this paragraph. The idea is to lessen fears people may have of the atmosphere so I hope it isn't taken the wrong way.