What is your reaction to DNC road and rail closures?

3/31/2004

In a move that is certain to create major headaches for Boston commuters, security officials have announced that Interstate 93 will be shut down in both directions for all four evenings of the Democratic National Convention in July, and North Station will be closed to all commuter rail and subway service. What is your reaction? Are these security precautions justified, or is the Secret Service going overboard? Do the benefits the convention will bring to the city make the inconveniences worthwhile?

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With all the threats and bombs occuring all over the world, we cannot stop living our everyday lives--and being afraid. Yes, to take precaution is one thing but I think what the Secret Agency is going to do to shut down part of Boston is overboard. As a commuter from north of Boston--I'll make sure I take vacation days that week and go far, far away.

sara , lowell

Shutting down I-93 and North Station is the biggest mistake the Democratic Convention is making. They will loose a lot of votes from Boston, thats for sure!

Erin Higgins, Salem

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. This is going to be a huge inconvenience to the entire region, never mind just the city of Boston. We are going to paralyze north/south travel on one of the busiest roadways in the nation for the convenience of a few thousand people. The logic here bewilders me. Many who take the train to commute now will try to drive in because of the closing of North Station and with the one major North/South artery closed that will even make the situation worse. It has been pointed out that the Republican National Convention will be held at Madison Square Garden which sits on top of Penn Station in NYC and there is no discussion of closing down that station. I'm not sure if this is all political maneuvering between Romney and Menino regarding using the new Convention Center, but whoever came up with the plan to do this should fired. Yes, there could be a terrorist attack - but that could happen at anytime - including when the Fleet Center is full of families attending a Bruins or Celtics game. Are the lives of the people attending the DNC more important than the average citizen - I think not and I think John Kerry could win lots of favor by denouncing the plan to close down North Station and 93. He claims to be a man of the people - he should stand up to this absurd plan and just say NO!!! We live in an open and free society. To inconvenience the majority for what is essentially a glorified "party" for a few is downright wrong.

Mark, Chelmsford

I think it is necessary but it should have been part of the decision making progress on where to hold the convention. Too much, too late.

dncdummy, haverhill

I think these politicians are taking it too far that has disrupted our lives too much.

NoMo, Lynn, MA

Hey, maybe it will work out for the best. While the rampant paranoia of the secret service is shutting down major portions of Boston's decaying, pathetic, Third-world infrastructure instead of actually focusing on preventing terrorist attacks (which I think we know are unlikely to be aimed at a Democratic Convention which doesn't even carry the President), perhaps the the city can make some improvements to those highway and rail lines without being impeded by traffic. I rather expect, though, that the contractors will be too busy at the convention looking for kick-backs themselves to be doing any of the work they are being over-paid for.

Ryan, North End

People like Amy really need to learn the facts before spewing such ignorance. First of all, the people planning the convention wanted the Fleetcenter not the convention center, which isn't even finished yet. Menino agreed. Also, the Dems aren't making the call about closing 93, its the Feds. And the Democrats did not talk you into building the convention center, that was Paul Cellucci, Jane Swift & Co. Last time I checked they were Republicans.

Manuel, Whitinsville

You've got to be kidding....Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in lost productivity. Businesses closing down. Employees forced to use their hard-earned vacation time during this particular week, whether they want to or not. The inconvenience simply is not worth the "prestige" or supposed economic benefit of hosting this convention. Will even the federal offices next door to the Fleet Center have to shut down for the week? This is a fiasco.

HK Brown, Braintree

I wish they could cancel or move the convention. I ride through North Station every single day (and I pay a startling $181 for the privilege) and while I am not highly paid consultant I must say that it is totally and completely INSANE to expect a building which can hardly accommodate the its normal flow of traffic to accommodate an additional 30,000 people. In order to truly understand what can happen in the station all you need to do is try to commute in or out of North Station while any event of any size is taking place in the Fleet Center. I don’t need to remind any regular riders of what happened when the Patriots had their Super Bowl Parades. It was DANGEROUSLY crowded. The police stood by and watched while fans and commuters got into shoving matches. Anyone with any brains can see North Station is GROSSLY inappropriate for its current uses let alone as the loby of the DNC. For safety sake the station MUST be closed, but I think that Menino should be ashamed of himself for allowing this to happen. How did he expect to have all of those additional people in the building with out displacing the commuting public when on an average day the station is dangerously over crowded? While I am crying over spilled milk I would also like to ask whose bright idea it was to make the station smaller when all that money was spent rebuilding it but that is for a different day…

L. Mickey, Ipswich

Ok, Boston, let's negotiate. Close down 93, don't allow trains through N. Station, shut the whole city down- BUT take the increased tax revenue from this convention and directly pay off the Big Dig tab. Haven't we paid enough- now the city is raising the Tobin bridge toll by $1 (to $3) and that's just the beginning. With budget shortfalls across the board, the city is going to bleed the rock even more, and I can envision a time when it'll cost $10 to enter and leave the city each day - not to mention parking. suddenly a night out on the town -dinner, a sox game etc- isn't so affordable/pratical (not that a sox game is INexpensive now). So, I am willing to put up with some confusion and inconvience, but I want something for it. Not screwing the little guy for a change might be a great start!

Jake, Saugus