In Chelsea, pedalers celebrate the bus
Bike riders in Chelsea turned a protest into a celebration Friday, in a change of heart that was brought about when the MBTA announced plans to install 250 bike racks on buses, including Chelsea's Route 111 to Haymarket. The riders had planned to ask for just that, standing by a ''no bikes" sign on the Tobin Bridge, a symbol of their isolation from Boston.
In Chelsea, bikes remain an important part of the transportation fabric, a way to get around without a driver's license.
But with a bike, a ride from Chelsea to Boston is hazardous. It is a pockmarked route with narrow and few sidewalks, and with potholes so large locals call them ''the public pools of Chelsea."
The T announced the effort last week, a $255,000 program funded by a federal grant distributed by the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. More than 250 buses will have two bike racks installed this spring. They will serve routes in Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Medford, Malden, Revere, Charlestown, Burlington, Lexington, Bedford, Belmont, Arlington, Waltham, Watertown, Allston, Brighton, Woburn, and Winchester.
Signage painHerewith an update on the new mileage signs on Massachusetts Highway Department roadways.
State highway officials acknowledged last week that some of the new road signs list the wrong distance mileage. One sign on Interstate 93 north, near Exit 45 in Andover, reported that Manchester, N.H. was 42 miles away, although the actual distance is just a bit more than 28 miles.
Another sign on Route 128/95 in Needham reported that Wellesley is 7 miles away. The actual distance is slightly less than 3 miles. A sign on Route 3 north in Braintree listed the distance to I-93 as 5 miles when the distance by odometer was 3 miles.
All the mistakes were brought to our attention by Starts & Stops readers.
''Once again Starts & Stops readers are valuable field agents for us," a MassHighway spokesman, Jon Carlisle, said last week. ''We are making the corrections to these two individual signs and doing a statewide inventory of interstate and secondary roads."
We asked officials for an update on Friday, and here -- verbatim -- is what we received. We had asked MassHighway spokesman Erik Abell for the number of signs that were found to be in error.
''None of the reviewed signs, so far, have contained the types of mileage errors that were recently discovered. We will continue the sign review through next week, with the hopes of completing the process by then."
That wasn't the kind of answer we were expecting. So help us, Starts & Stops readers. If you have some time, reset your odometer by these signs, and clock the mileage.
Pit stopsThe permanent alignment of Route 1A north opened Friday near the MBTA's Airport station. The 1,500-foot roadway gives commuters a direct shot to Route 1A north from the Callahan Tunnel, rather than the old circuitous route. Also set to open this weekend is a permanent connector ramp from Interstate 93 north to the McGrath/O'Brien Highway (debuting last Friday night), and a new Nashua Street Connector to I-93.
Happy birthday, cityThe acting Boston transportation commissioner, Tom Tinlin, is advising motorists that traffic delays can be expected in downtown Boston today because of the grand finale of Boston's 375th celebration. A parade, a concert and fireworks will close several streets throughout the day. Parking will also be banned in many locations. The parade begins at 1 p.m. on Boylston Street, near Exeter. The parade will go from Boylston Street to Tremont Street to Cambridge Street, and will end at Cambridge Street and Sudbury Street.
Can't get there . . . The Exit 24A ramp off I-93 south to Government Center will shift to one lane at all hours, for four weeks starting tomorrow.
I-93 south over the Charles River will close from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 1 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
I-93 south from the Charles River to the South Bay Shopping Center will close from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Wednesday.
The Haymarket onramp to I-93 south and the Callahan Tunnel will close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Essex Street onramp to I-93 south will close from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Storrow Drive onramp to I-93 south will close from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
Exit 20 off I-93 south to the Pike west will close from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday, from 8 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, and from 8 p.m. next Sunday to 5 a.m. next Monday.
I-93 north at Exit 20 will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Monday through Friday and from 1 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The ramps at Exit 20 from I-93 north to the Massachusetts Turnpike will close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday through next Sunday. The left-hand ramp from Exit 20 to Frontage Road northbound and South Station will remain open.
The Essex Street onramp to I-93 north will close from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday, and from 11 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Atlantic Avenue onramp to I-93 north will close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The underpass from Storrow Drive east to I-93 north and the Tobin Bridge will close from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. from Tuesday through Friday and 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturday.
The Haymarket onramp to I-93 north will close from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 p.m. tonight to 5 a.m. tomorrow, 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The Sumner Tunnel onramp to I-93 north will close from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tonight through Friday, and from 10 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday.
The Sumner Tunnel onramp to Government Center will close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday.
The Massachusetts Turnpike east between Exit 22 (Prudential/Copley) and South Boston will close from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday, and from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday through next Sunday. Direct access to the Ted Williams Tunnel from Frontage Road northbound and South Boston will remain open.
The Massachusetts Turnpike west in South Boston will close from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday and next Sunday.
The onramp from Frontage Road northbound to the Massachusetts Turnpike west at the Broadway Bridge will close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday through next Sunday.
The Congress Street onramp to I-93 south and the Massachusetts Turnpike west will close from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday, from 10 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, and from 8 p.m. next Sunday to 5 a.m. next Monday.
The onramp from Congress Street to I-93 in South Boston, and the Pike west's Exit 24 to I-93 will close from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday.
The Broadway Bridge will close westbound from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday-Friday and 9 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
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