Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston, Cambridge, Milton: parking ticket, sewer, crime)

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I do wonder what is causing so much traffic with so many people still not back to the office. The ones that are back also don't seem to be 5 days a week. I guess the answer is that people are deciding not to take the train and driving instead. Makes me wonder where everyone is parking...there's just not much st parking in the city...are there that many lots?

My reference is only Google Maps but it still doesn't seem like it's anywhere near normal. I think people have forgotten how bad traffic was.

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I do wonder what is causing so much traffic with so many people still not back to the office. The ones that are back also don't seem to be 5 days a week. I guess the answer is that people are deciding not to take the train and driving instead. Makes me wonder where everyone is parking...there's just not much st parking in the city...are there that many lots?

I doubt everyone out on the roads is attempting to park in Boston. Don't forget that there are only two main ways to get from the north short to the south shore: 128 and 93 through Boston.

[msRB311]

Yeah...i mean traffic does seem to get worse and worse around here, not better. If people arent back in the office though and are working from home...it does kind of make me wonder why the roads would be so clogged.

[yesmaybe]

I'm sure there are WFH people running errands during the day that they wouldn't otherwise be able to do if they were at work.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

I'm sure there are WFH people running errands during the day that they wouldn't otherwise be able to do if they were at work.

perhaps but during rush hours? I can honestly say that not once have I ventured out on the highway during rush hour since this WFH thing began. Im really not on the highway at all other than weekends.

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

I'm sure there are WFH people running errands during the day that they wouldn't otherwise be able to do if they were at work.

People who can't work from home
Errands
Couriers
Contractors
Salespeople
Delivery drivers
Picking up children from school and going to extracurricular activities
Elderly people out before it gets dark

Actually my street in southern New Hampshire was back to its normal traffic months ago.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

My reference is only Google Maps but it still doesn't seem like it's anywhere near normal. I think people have forgotten how bad traffic was.

It's not quite at the worst of pre-pandemic levels yet, but it's definitely getting there. This article from 11 days ago says we're only about 10% below 2019 levels. It feels that way.

Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan

I doubt everyone out on the roads is attempting to park in Boston. Don't forget that there are only two main ways to get from the north short to the south shore: 128 and 93 through Boston.

Certainly not everyone is parking in/around downtown, but Boston's never had a shortage of parking. There weren't too many garages that filled up even before the pandemic, and most of the largest had quite a bit of capacity. Is parking expensive? Absolutely. But I'd be pretty surprised if many people can actually claim that they've ever tried to drive into Boston, even at noon on a weekday in 2019, and couldn't find a parking spot within a reasonable distance of their destination. There have been several studies over the past several years that have surveyed central Boston parking garages and lots and found somewhere in the ballpark of 20-30% of spaces are unused, even at the height of the workday.

Anyway, several employers that I know of have paid for or subsidized parking for employees currently driving in, even if they had previously commuted via transit. There are a few in my office who have been temporarily given monthly passes to a nearby garage. So not everyone is paying $45/day or $400+ per month.

[msRB311]

Right i realize a lot of people can't work from home. i just know sooo many people who still are WFH...

I guess it's just annoying to hear that that traffic is bad again with many people still WFH...it's one of the reasons many want to stay WFH. Traffic in Boston is just so bad but no one seems to want to do anything about it or help alleviate it.

FWIW I've heard the trains are crowded again. Maybe people are comparing roads/trains to when the pandemic was at it's worst and not many people were going out at all.

[msRB311]

I suppose there are a good amount of parking lots in Boston...the reason they are never filled is likely due to how much it costs to park there.

[mdovell]

the gaming commission is having a meeting Wednesday that looks to overturn the covid regs on casinos.
https://massgaming.com/wp-content/up...da-5.26.21.pdf

if the casinos are open at full capacity then I'd argue all sports venues will and we're pretty much done outside of say homeless shelters and transit.

I live in CT and the venue near me is booked again. Looks like two shows a month so far. At it's peak it might have been two or three a week so given time it will probably expand. I just heard MGM is having concerts in springfield starting June 4th so they know MGC is going to overturn the regs.

On traffic I think the issue also is if people moved further out that means they have to drive further in. If a town isn't that developed then not everything is open so some might rush. I have a home depot about 20 minutes from me and a hardware store about three minutes. But the hardware store closes at 6pm. Think I want to hit a box store after work? If I put in pickup but otherwise I'll go to the hardware store but like I said it closes at 6pm.

Boston parking I think is a bit expensive ($35 a day last I paid) and I dont' think laz has a monthly pass. I've never had an issue finding parking at night, there's plenty. During the day it's much harder