Officials detail plans for I-93, North Station closures during convention
you take this and the fact the bars will stay open till 4 am during the convention i'm convinced they want ole teddy boy to go out get shitfaced then try to find his way home. then all the dnc goers will have a sort of scavenger hunt to find the drunk in downtown boston. winner get's kennedys weight in jack danniels
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/...ng_convention/
Officials detail plans for I-93, North Station closures during convention
By Jennifer Peter, Associated Press, 3/31/2004
BOSTON -- Two of Boston's major transportation hubs, North Station and Interstate 93, will be closed during the Democratic National Convention in July -- an unpopular plan certain to snarl traffic but one that organizers say is necessary to ensure security.
At the insistence of the Secret Service, North Station will close July 23, three days before the start of the convention, and reopen sometime July 30. Interstate 93 will be closed during evening hours during the four-day presidential nominating event.
The convention is being held in the FleetCenter, which shares a building with North Station. The four commuter lines from the north will be stopped outside the city and riders will need to travel into Boston by shuttle bus. Subway service to North Station also will be suspended during the convention.
There will be street closures and parking restrictions around the FleetCenter, but those have not yet been finalized.
"We're facing unprecedented challenges in the development of this plan," Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole said Wednesday at a news conference with the Secret Service and transit authorities to announce the security plan.
The convention has presented organizers with unique security challenges, due to the heightened fear of a terrorist threat and the event's location in the densely developed downtown. Organizers had speculated it would be necessary to close the station and highway for security reasons during the convention, which will be the first national nominating convention held since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The decision to close North Station comes a few weeks after train bombings in Madrid, Spain, killed more than 100 people.
The security plan was recommended by the Secret Service in coordination with city, state and federal officials. The Secret Service is in charge of security for the convention, because it has been designated a "special security event."
"Our goal is to provide a safe and secure environment for all event participants and the general public," said Steven Ricciardi, special agent in charge of the Boston office of Secret Service.
The commuter station and the interstate, which was recently buried beneath the city as part of the Big Dig, are two of the city's major transportation centers. North Station shares the building with the FleetCenter, where the convention will be held, and I-93 is adjacent to building.
The closures almost ensure major disruptions. About 24,000 rail commuters use North Station daily, while up to 200,000 motorists use the new I-93 tunnel. Commuter boats also will not be allowed to use Lovejoy Wharf, in the inner harbor.
Emergency vehicles, MBTA buses and other designated vehicles will be allowed to use I-93.
The closure of I-93 to general traffic will cause headaches if organizers and city leaders do not fully inform drivers of what they will face, according to Art Kinsman, spokesman for AAA of Southern New England.
"Certainly this would be a nightmare if people acted as if it was business as usual," Kinsman said. "The message needs to get out that this is happening and it's a big deal and if there are other options for those days, take them."
Boston police spokeswoman Mariellen Burns said some thought was given to stopping the commuter trains a short distance from the current platforms and having people walk to North Station. The idea was abandoned because the space no longer exists and there would be no way to accommodate handicapped riders.
The Fitchburg line will end at Porter Square in Cambridge, where commuters can switch to Red Line subway trains. The Lowell line will end at West Medford. Commuters will be able to pick up shuttle buses into the city at stops along the line.
The Haverhill line will stop in Malden, where riders can switch to Orange Line subway trains. The Newburyport/Rockport lines will end at Lynn, where commuters can catch shuttle buses, and Chelsea, where riders can catch the Route 111 bus to Boston.
Because of the potential security risks and traffic disruptions, Republican Gov. Mitt Romney suggested earlier this month that the convention be moved to a nearly completed new convention center in South Boston.
The recommendation drew ire from Democrats, who argued that the Republican was trying to make political mischief for John Kerry's big party. The suggestion came too late in the process, they said, and would leave the convention in a less than ideal setting.
Democratic organizers have said that the FleetCenter is one of the reasons they picked Boston for the event, both for its central location within walking distance of many hotels and its physical layout, suitable for the pomp and circumstance of coronating a presidential nominee.
The South Boston convention center would not present the same security risks or commuter headaches, but it is not close to where most of the delegates will be staying. There is also no arena setting there, which could lead to the convention being held on a flat surface that is not optimal for gathering people together.
Commuters appeared resigned to the idea of disruptions and had become used to them in a city that has been caught in the snarls of the $14.6 billion Central Artery project for more than a decade.
"We've put up with so many hardships because of the Big Dig," said Ana Nuncio of Salem, an editor at Houghton Mifflin. "So I just go with the flow."
