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Friday, December 14, 2012

Careful of the Jingle Bellers!




On Sunday, December 16th beginning at 9 a.m., police and traffic and parking personnel will be detouring vehicles in and around the Davis, Teele, and Ball Square areas to accommodate the running of annual Jingle Bell road race.

Secondary roads in these areas may also be closed to through traffic for a brief time in order to allow runners to pass. Major roadways including Holland Street to Alewife Brook Parkway, Powerhouse Boulevard, Broadway (in the Ball Square corridor), Cedar Street and Highland Ave. between Cedar Street and Davis Square will be closed from 11 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m.

The Davis Square area will be closed to all traffic until approximately 1 p.m., and buses to and from the Davis Square area will be rerouted down Elm Street. Buses along the rest of the race route may be delayed for a short period of time.

Police and MBTA officials will be stationed throughout these areas to direct traffic and provide detour information. If you have any questions, please call 311.

2012 Jingle Bell Road Race Course:

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would complain, but the guy who puts this race on donates thousands of dollars to the city. Far more then the money that is spend on details and detours. He *does* put money back into the city.

Anonymous said...

He may, but I'll still complain about midmorning races! Do it at 7 AM when people are still in bed or just brewing coffee!

Anonymous said...

That's a good idea

Anonymous said...

I think the plentiful road races in Somerville are are a net positive for our city in terms of quality of life, good publicity, etc. I don't mind that it might take a little while longer to drive around those areas during those brief windows of time.

Anonymous said...

So anon #1 says it all about money put back into the city by the guy who puts this race on; his input offsetting our tax money spent on police enforcement----I would to like know the dollar figures he,she is talking about; and he/she also makes no mention of the overtime tax money paid to DPW workers also in the equation.

Dollars aside; he/she makes no mention of the impacted residents, busineses and vehicle drivers who are INCONVENIENCED for the time time the race is on; and people inconvenienced by the rerouting of bus routes.

I have been caught up in the vehicle traffic "mess" created by these road races.

Drivers trying to bail out of traffic messes/snafus going the wrong way on 1-way streets resulting in arguements when confronted by drivers coming on (correctly) head-on
Many drivers, not living in Somerville, never getting the advance notice on street closures; as well as some residents never getting the advance word.

Bottom line, while a road race now and then... I, and maybe others, can grudgingly put up with; but in Somerville there are far too many road races to put with; with all their associated problems impacting residents, businesses, and motor vehicle movement; to say nothing of spent tax money involved.

It's time the citizens impacted by the number of road races scheduled in Somerville MAKE KNOWN known to the city officials "enough is enough" with the number of road races permitted in Somerville, impacting the same residents and routes every time.






Anonymous said...

"Quality of life"???? A "net positive" ?????

Tell that to the people being inconvenienced.

Anonymous said...

My daughter came from Medford for a scheduled late Sunday morning pick-up of a birthday cake at Lyndell's Bakery in Ball Square.

She ran into what could best be described as utter chaos traffic wise in attempting to negotiate around blocked streets and being able to park at a reasonable distance to gain access to Lyndells.

When finally there after parking on a Medford side street north of Broadway and walking a distance in the rain to Lyndells; there were two other customers in the store who complained about the same problem; one was from Arlington.

So much for "quality of life" referred to by a previous poster here.

Steve said...

These running events have been a part of the city' culture for forty years and along with many other events of all kinds are what have made the city the dynamo it has become today. It was well advertised and lasted an hour. My daughter ran with her friends and had a blast.

Anonymous said...

Forty years ago, and for many years following, there were not as many road races run as there currently are....they just keep adding more as the years go on.

Well advertised....locally, yes; but not to out of towners planning on coming to the city visiting, and/or local businesses, or passing through to other destinations.

One hour???? Blocked streets and rerouted buses started at 9:00 A.M.
It took well MORE than one hour for the last race stragglers to cross the finish line.
1,500 racers was the count reported.

Davis Square, and adjoining area, was virtually "closed-down" to traffic well before the race started to allow the race participants to "meet and greet" each other on the streets.

To create the "illusion" that the negative impact on traffic, bus routes, and to residents only lasted "one hour"----IS NOT TRUE!


I couldn't get past Highland Ave at Lowell Street---westbound, at 9:15 A.M.