morning commutes today

[LoveTrains]

Did everyone make it in safely this morning? Providence continues to do a piss poor job of plowing. I didn't see any streets down to pavement on my trek into work today. 

[bostonmichelle]

Made in. The roads were pretty well cleared except one town that doesn't salt due to too many wetlands..... I usually go a different way in but had to drop off Chase at puppy daycare and pick up a prescription.

[bostonmichelle]

scm1011 since the red line isn't run this morning again you probably made the right call! Hopefully you can get home tonight.

[bostonmichelle]

Feb 3, 2015 10:12:07 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Feb 3, 2015 10:05:49 GMT -5 bostonmichelle said:

scm1011 since the red line isn't run this morning again you probably made the right call! Hopefully you can get home tonight.

Yes, since it was cruicial I get here by 6am this morning I absolutely made the right call! Most of my MBTA commuting friends still haven't made it in according to my facebook feed.  I love how the MBTA is all "avoid red line and commuter rail lines, seek alternate transporation". WHAT ALTERNATE TRANSPORTATION? Are you going to send me a flying unicorn? This really is unacceptable.

Green line is closed as well at the moment. I hope all your friends make it in safely.

Good luck to everyone commuting into the city! I hope you all make it in safely.

[pinkroses]

I don't want to commute again until July.  OMG.  I am so lucky that my job encourages me to work at home when the weather is bad.  I took the T on Thursday last week and that was bad enough.  I can't imagine how awful it was this morning.  I went out for a doctor appointment at 7am and only the main roads were down to pavement.  Any side street still had at least an inch of snow on it.  I read that it's too cold out for the snow melting chemicals to work. 

[noodleoo]

My commute was longer than usual but okay. I take back raods and while the conditions were awful (still snow covered and very slippery), it appeared no one was out but me so I made it just going slowly. I'm not excited about tomorrow as the roads will be just as bad but probably more peole will be on them.

My poor H was stuck on 93. Took him 15 mins to get to Medford and then 2 hours to get to his office. I would have just turned around and gone home.

I'm on call again tomorrow , which means probably working until 8 PM, I'm wondering if my boss will let me just do it from home.   Since it will be a long day, it would be awesome to not have to commute 2+ hours.  I'm afraid to ask though as she seems annoyed at me already.  

[5kcandlesinthewind]

Feb 3, 2015 11:51:09 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

My poor H was stuck on 93. Took him 15 mins to get to Medford and then 2 hours to get to his office. I would have just turned around and gone home.

Did he get stuck in the snow plow mess early? I left my house at 6:30, and it was clear by the time I got to Sullivan Square, but it took me about an hour to get there from Stoneham (an hour and a half to Harvard Square - usually at that hour, it's about 45 minutes).

One of my staff lives out by Fitchburg, and she waited 2 hours for a commuter rail that never showed, so she went home. The MBTA is so effed.  I am not in favor of the Olympic bid, but if it means they may actually sink some money into the infrastructure, it may be worth it.

[lizlemon19]

Mine wasn't bad, but I didn't leave until 9. Had to go to the North Shore for work, but highways were fine.

[noodleoo]

Feb 3, 2015 12:00:27 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

Feb 3, 2015 11:51:09 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

My poor H was stuck on 93. Took him 15 mins to get to Medford and then 2 hours to get to his office. I would have just turned around and gone home.

Did he get stuck in the snow plow mess early? I left my house at 6:30, and it was clear by the time I got to Sullivan Square, but it took me about an hour to get there from Stoneham (an hour and a half to Harvard Square - usually at that hour, it's about 45 minutes).

One of my staff lives out by Fitchburg, and she waited 2 hours for a commuter rail that never showed, so she went home. The MBTA is so effed.  I am not in favor of the Olympic bid, but if it means they may actually sink some money into the infrastructure, it may be worth it.

No he went in later, probably around 8:30 AM.  It was just traffic, he works downtown and the roads are a mess due to the snowbanks.  Too many cars, no where for them to go!

[dougthedogsmom]

My commute is from Worcester County into the city and really, I was one of the lucky ones today. The commuter rail was like 10 minutes late picking us up in Southboro and then got me into Back Bay like 20 minutes later than normal. 495 on my way to the train station was clear until I got close to Rt9. Considering all the horrible commutes I have head about today, I had an easy one.

[5kcandlesinthewind]

Feb 3, 2015 13:22:05 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

No he went in later, probably around 8:30 AM.  It was just traffic, he works downtown and the roads are a mess due to the snowbanks.  Too many cars, no where for them to go!

That happened to me last week, 2 days after the blizzard. It's just all backed up everywhere.  93 is the suck, but the back roads are no picnic either, especially with all the snow. I actually ended up taking route 2 to 95N that evening to go home - I figured if i was going to be stuck in traffic again, at least I'd have different scenery to look at.

[elfinia7]

Mine wasn't so bad. I take all back roads and with schools closed again today, it helped a lot. There is still a ton of plowing that needs to happen and people need to stop snowblowing/shoveling into the street. It's so not helping!

[drloretta]

How did the evening commute go? The news looked awful

[LoveTrains]

Wow that sounds miserable for everyone. My h was supposed to have a meeting in Davis Sq today but it got cancelled last night which is good. He is going to attempt Amtrak into south station tomorrow.

[drloretta]

The parade today is going to be a cluster

[LoveTrains]

Feb 4, 2015 9:09:12 GMT -5 drloretta said:

The parade today is going to be a cluster

I dropped my H off at the train station in PVD today at 6:45 AM and there was a big crew of people in Pats gear that I guess were heading in to the parade. I agree that its going to be a total cluster. I actually think its kind of offensive to the people of the city/region that the players can't hang around for a few more days to do the parade. I mean really, considering the passion of the fans and how much people spend to see them play (aren't we paying their pay checks when we buy tickets, go to the stadium, etc etc), isn't it a little rude to say that they can't do the parade on Saturday because they won't be in town?

[noodleoo]

Feb 4, 2015 9:35:15 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Feb 4, 2015 9:09:12 GMT -5 drloretta said:

The parade today is going to be a cluster

Total disaster. The sidewalks are a nightmare, and I'm not sure how these people are going to see anything behind 5+ foot snow banks. I understand why they can't push it out any longer, but they should have changed it to some sort of celebration at Gillette or something instead. Its not safe to have all those people in the streets right now, and the T is still a mess.

I completely agree with this.  I don't really think it is safe and the resources would be much better spent cleaning up the snow in general rather than just on the parade route.  It is really sad to see that this is their priority.

[elfinia7]

I don't think a few more days would have made a difference though. We're getting snow again tomorrow (though supposedly only a few inches), possibly some more Saturday but then Sunday into Monday is suppose to be another fairly large storm. I've heard in total another 2 feet over the course of 10 days. There's no where to put the snow we do have and it hasn't been warming up enough to melt it down before more comes.

I think today was probably as good as it was going to get.

[drloretta]

Feb 4, 2015 12:06:31 GMT -5 elfinia7 said:

I don't think a few more days would have made a difference though. We're getting snow again tomorrow (though supposedly only a few inches), possibly some more Saturday but then Sunday into Monday is suppose to be another fairly large storm. I've heard in total another 2 feet over the course of 10 days. There's no where to put the snow we do have and it hasn't been warming up enough to melt it down before more comes.

I think today was probably as good as it was going to get.

I still like the idea of doing it right before the next season kicks off.

[janegold]

The city has been pulling out bulldozers and trucks to literally haul snow off of main roads. I know because there was bulldozer scraping, beeping and crashing right outside my bedroom window from 11pm to 4am last night, and after the first storm. I'm freaking EXHAUSTED.

The parade route was actually quite clear.  I work right at the beginning of the route and went down there:




Kraft, Belichick, BRADY and Gronk, respectively.

[LoveTrains]

Feb 4, 2015 12:54:38 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

That actually ENRAGES me. They spent all that time and money clearing the parade route?? What about train tracks and bus routes???

I 100% agree with you, but the train tracks probably come from a different budget/agency (MBTA) so I don't know thta the city is responsible for it.

What do you all think of the way the MBTA is handling the fact that their infrastructure is totally effed and old and doesn't work? I said to my H that I saw the woman who runs the T (can't remember her name now, an older Af-Am woman) on the news last night and I was impressed that she owned the issues and apologized. But H was just mad about it. But I think that the case here is to be made for more investment in the infrastructure. I know it is easy for me to judge from the sidelines. I saw some pictures on twitter and it looks AWFUL today. 

[dougthedogsmom]

I never even got into the city today I decided the take the later train (DUMB) because I am still sick. The Southboro Commuter rail station's parking lot was full by the time I got there with nowhere to park. Traffic was a nightmare on 9 and there was also no parking at the Framingham station or anywhere nearby. I finally ended up at a different station, but realized that would not get me into Back Bay until 10:30. I work in the Pru, so that wasn't going to work and I obviously could not drive in. Thankfully, everyone at work was super nice and I am working remotely from home.

Last night, the train was 30 minutes late dropping me off, which was not awful.

[janegold]

Feb 4, 2015 12:54:38 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

That actually ENRAGES me. They spent all that time and money clearing the parade route?? What about train tracks and bus routes???

Well I don't live on the parade route and they were bulldozing my street all night too; as far as I'm aware they've been working overnight on all the major city arteries. I don't think it's ridiculous that they'd be working to clear Boylston, for example, overnight regardless of the parade.  It's a major street.  And I don't believe that the city budget and the MBTA/commuter rail budget are the same.  I'm glad my taxes are going toward clearing the streets and sidewalks I have to walk on every day, personally.   

[5kcandlesinthewind]

Feb 4, 2015 14:05:04 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

2) I think Beverly Scott is doing the best she can with what she's got (I'm pretty sure MBTA GM has to be the WORST JOB EVER). But yes, the MBTA absolutely needs invest heavily in new infrastructure, there is no doubt about that.

I heard her on WBZ yesterday morning, and she was clearly as frustrated with the situation as everyone stuck riding the T.  Ok, maybe not AS frustrated, but she's definitely aware of the limitations and is not trying to over-promise.  I don't envy her a bit -she inherited a total disaster.

And I am firmly in the "the damn parade shouldn't have happened" camp. Getting around is a nightmare right now, whether by car, foot, or T, and there are at least 2 more storms in the forecast.  Some of the sidewalks here and side roads are still a disaster- even if we end up with only a couple of inches in the next few days, there's nowhere to put it, and they haven't finished cleaning up from the last two.  Unless the Krafts shelled out for the parade, then those resources should have been diverted.  Do a rally at Gillette and call it a damn day.

[LoveTrains]

So obviously its a little different because I live in a different city, but I am so appalled in general at the lack of snow removal in my city. I wish we had bulldozers removing snow from streets and sidewalks. I almost got killed today because I couldn't walk on the sidewalk, there is no where to park at work, and its ridiculous. Still snow all over the streets, some streets look like they haven't been touched by a plow at all.

[pinkroses]

Feb 4, 2015 12:54:38 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

That actually ENRAGES me. They spent all that time and money clearing the parade route?? What about train tracks and bus routes???

I couldn't believe how clear the parade route looked on TV yesterday.  I drove in to the Longwood area last night and it was still a disaster.  Also, Beacon Street in the Back Bay had ridiculous snowbanks in all of the meter/resident spaces, so people were just parked in the travel lanes.  Horrific.

[pinkroses]

Also, I have been working from home all week and don't feel guilty about it.  I refuse to deal with an unsafe commute, and I can do everything that I need to remotely.

[LoveTrains]

Also, why is it mother effing snowing AGAIN? It looks like a blizzard out my window right now.