Senator urges study of road closing plan

WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry said yesterday that he has asked his staff to investigate whether the Secret Service can scale back plans for widespread road closings around Boston during the Democratic National Convention and said that he was never told about the extent of the shutdowns planned during the party gala.

Kerry's remarks were greeted coolly by the Secret Service and Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston, who have been working on the plan since late last year and say there is little room for major revision now.

"There's just no way we could change the security plan," said Steven Ricciardi, special agent in charge of the Boston field office for the Secret Service. "I just don't see it. It was a hard process. But we made recommendations, and they were agreed to by the governor's office, the State Police, and the City of Boston."

Menino said that plenty of planning went into the transportation and security measures and that energy would be better spent now alerting the public to the inconveniences.

"It's time to be done with this," the mayor said.

The extensive road closings and MBTA restrictions have outraged some residents and officials from nearby communities. Further criticism was set off Friday, when Kerry said he may not accept the nomination at the convention, a strategic move to combat President Bush's fund-raising advantages in the race.

In the interview, Kerry told the Globe: "I am personally getting my campaign involved in making certain that Boston is open for business and that there is a minimal amount [of disruption], consistent with security. Smart people are working on this; I'm confident we'll be able to get somewhere."

He would not specify which road closings he wants to avoid. The Massachusetts senator shook his head when asked about a plan, backed by Menino, to have businesses encourage their workers to take vacation the week of July 26 to avoid congestion during the convention.

"I do not think that that's necessary at all," Kerry said. "I want the city of Boston to be shown as a working city, as a city that's underway. And that's exactly the way I intend to try to approach it."

It was unclear what Kerry could do to change Boston's traffic plan, but he does have clout as the presumptive party nominee, as well as the primary focus of the Secret Service's protective efforts.

Kerry insisted he was surprised by the massive security shutdowns planned for the convention, but several people involved in security planning said his staff has been kept informed about the plans. Mariellen Burns, a spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department's convention planning, said Kerry's convention staff members have attended at least some of the briefings by security and transportation planners each week.

"They've been included, and every effort has been made to keep the city open," Burns said.

Menino also said Kerry convention staff members in Boston have "been in the loop" all along and were made aware of the planned closings well in advance of the announcement Thursday.

But Kerry aides said the candidate has been focused on developing the thematic portions of the convention program and left details of the security plan to his staff. Asked about last week's announcement, Kerry said, "I was very surprised, and immediate questions came to mind, and I immediately kicked my people into gear, and we're going to have a series of meetings which will deal with that."

He added: "We're working very hard now with the authorities to minimize, to make sure that Boston is secure, but also to minimize the disruption."

One campaign adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that after hearing of the road-closure plan, Kerry asked his campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, and his convention liaison, Jack Corrigan, to review the security plan and brief him.

Despite the move, security and transportation specialists said yesterday that as long as the two key demands made by the Secret Service -- closing the short stretch of Interstate 93 near the FleetCenter and closing North Station -- remain in place, there are no substantial modifications that can be made to the plan.

The extensive road closures emanating from Boston are the best way to close down that short stretch of I-93 in an orderly fashion, traffic engineers say.

There could be modest changes, such as allowing entrance ramps on I-93 northbound south of the city to remain open, said John Kennedy, a principal at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., the Watertown-based traffic management firm that was brought in to advise on the implementation of the plan. Or, the closure point for I-93 southbound could be moved from Route 60 in Medford to Route 16, farther south. But the Tobin Bridge and Sumner Tunnel would have to remain closed, Kennedy said.

The mayor said that with the Secret Service in charge, major changes to transportation plans will not be possible, though he said he would work with Kerry aides if they're interested in "slight alterations." The most disruptive road closing, he said, is the shutdown of I-93, and its location beside the FleetCenter makes that closing unavoidable.

"I don't know if you've seen the demonstrations, but you could put one of those missile-shooting guns in the trunk of a car," Menino said in Las Vegas, where he is attending a conference of retail developers. "Since 9/11, our lives have changed, so security is number one. If we don't [take security precautions] -- and do it properly -- if something happens, who's to blame?"

During the interview, Kerry spoke about the opportunity to showcase his hometown as "a world-class city" and pump millions of dollars into the local economy, and talked about highlighting the community's efforts in health care and education.

Kerry indicated he would try to promote public transportation during the convention.

"The MBTA is a great transportation system," Kerry said. "I'm going to urge them to make that free and available during those four days."

The MBTA has previously said it cannot provide free T use.

Meanwhile, Citizens for Limited Taxation called yesterday for the cancellation of the convention. In a news release posted on its website, the organization said, "It is time to admit the mistake, cut our losses -- cancel it."

An aide to Menino said last night, "They've been spouting nonsense for 20 years, and this is no different."

Klein reported from Las Vegas; Johnson from Washington. Anthony Flint of the Globe staff contributed from Boston. Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.