Convention wisdom

The MBTA will face difficulties of its own because North Station will be shut for a week at the time of the convention. Commuter rail passengers who ordinarily get off there will have to get off their trains early and take regular subway lines or special buses into the city. The T should make sure that these alternative services run flawlessly.

The worst disruptions will come when Interstate 93 is closed during the convention's four evening sessions. The Secret Service worried that the highway, which passes next to the Fleet Center, was too tempting a location for truck bombers. The time of the shutdown has not been announced. It ought to be as late as possible to allow commuters who travel by car to leave work with minimum inconvenience.

Boston and State Police will be out in force around the area during the last week in July. That enhanced presence ought to keep terrorists away. But the Democratic Convention will be the first one held since the 9/11 attacks, so the Secret Service is being especially cautious.

The proximity of transportation facilities to the Fleet Center, although it poses a security problem during the convention, represents compact urbanism at its best, and the weeklong inconvenience is a small price to pay for that.

Employers in the area ought to encourage people to go on vacation for the week. Those who remain have nearly four months to prepare for the disruption. People who live and work in Boston have endured blizzards, hurricanes, great fires, a molasses flood, and the Big Dig. With foresight and humor, all of us will get through the Democratic National Convention.