 | Boston Warnings or Dangers | Tips 1 - 10 of 128 |  |
 | |  |  | Parking & Driving: Boston Driving | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
Is driving in Boston as bad as they say it is? Why yes, yes it is. Having driven in larger cities such as Phoenix, Toronto, and Montreal where traffic is reputed to be bad - Boston driving tops them all in terms of complicity! So why is driving in Boston so darn bad? Largely in part because most of the city is not based on a square, grid system like most other cities. The Big Dig - the largest and most complicated roadway construction in American history even has their own website. Anyone living in, near or having been to Boston ever, will tell you public transit is the way. One way streets a plenty, Boston must be the worst driving city in North America. If you do get brave and think driving is best (which we foolishly did most the time) take your patience with you and plan, plan, plan well ahead of where you want to go. If you're not sure, pull over and ask and take an up to date, detailed map. A must! Just when you think you've conquered Boston driving, don't get too thrilled. From experience, Bostonians are the most hostile drivers we've encountered yet. While Montreal drivers are impatient and hard to handle, Boston drivers are that - plus angry. If you even wait a nanno-second too long at a green light they're not above bumping your car, giving you the finger, screaming and beeping. And thats what they do to eachother! So if you're a tourist you better familairize yourself pretty quickly with the area if you're driving. If you do find that driving is simply a must for you and the other drivers don't freak you out - parking in Boston certainly will. Planning on spending a full-day at the New England Aquarium are you? Be ready to fork over $28 in US Funds (thats $45 Canadian). Going to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts? Be prepared to spend $17 US ($30 Canadian) for just two measely hours at the parking garage (which also happens to frequently be full). In a nut shell, bring the most comfy pair of walking shoes you own! Leave a Comment Website: www.bigdig.com/
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| | | | Parking & Driving: Parking and Driving | Tip Rating:  | | | | |
I just need to reiterate my admonitions not to drive a car into Boston, especially the city centre. Boston is unlike any other city in North America in terms of its physical composition, and the winding, narrow nature of its streets coupled with the heavy congestion endemic of high population densities inevitably result in a nightmarish scenario for anyone used to the grid system of wide streets so prevalent on this continent. The accompanying photo is of heavy gridlock in a neighbourhood commercial district quite a ways from downtown, which was still nerve-wrecking to endure (the photo was taken reflected off my rear-view mirror). Unpredictable events, such as construction or flash flooding (Storrow Drive, one of the city's major highways, is rather low-lying and prone to inundation from the adjacent Charles River) can turn what can typically be a 20-minute joruney into one lasting two hours or more. Many intersections lack any indication of lane delineation, some highways allow for travel on breakdown lanes and road rage is highly proliferous. I urge even the most avid automobile aficionado to abandon their vehicle for the duration of their trip and make extensive use of their own legs or of the public transportation system for safe and rapid transit about the city. Despite whatever nightmarish things some individuals may have to say about the uncleanliness or inefficiency of the public transit system, nine times out of ten it will be a superior conveyance within the city centre to a car or truck. Parking, of course, is another issue altogether. Having lived in the metropolitan Boston region for six years, I can locate free parking in several peripheral areas around the city centre, but it is impossible to penetrate downtown Boston without having to endure exorbitant parking rates. The most economical (and centrally located) garage is that under Boston Common, but it tends to fill fast even when none of the city's frequent events are taking place. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Walking: Rush Hour | Tip Rating: | | | | |
At around 5:00pm, most offices in central Boston discharge their workers and an onslaught begins upon the city's ancient and beleaguered sidewalks which does not cease for at least the following hour. It is rush hour, and particularly in the Financial District around South Station, attempting to walk in a direction opposite that of the masses set upon rapidly reaching the station is a nearly impossible goal. For the skilled Boston pedestrian, the flood gates of secretaries and file slaves being opened upon Boston's streets may be seen as a welcome challenge, but for the ambling, camera-toting tourist, it is a disconcerting experience. In any case, it is rare anyone visits the exclusively business precincts of Boston, though I highly recommend it, as it contains architectural delights lacked in Wall Street or other North American financial quarters. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Crime / After Dark: Walking around Revere at night | Tip Rating: | | | | |
the neighbourhood seemed fine during the day, but after taking the transit back, and having to walk 10 minutes at 11pm to my hotel, my perspective changed. The streets not only did the streets look unkept, and shops covered in spraypaint, but the people roaming the streets were quite intimidating, in large numbers. Not to stereotype, but there were alot of 'thugs', slow driving cars, etc. I'm a big guy, who's been to some interesting parts of bigger cities, and i have never felt like I had to be so cautious. Nothing happened, but i would avoid it again anyhow. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Weather: Dress for the weather! | Tip Rating: | | | | |
The night we arrived, it was the coldest temperature for that date since some time in the 1800s. Yeah, it was c-c-c-c-cold! Pictured here is Jackie (scuba_girl), who picked us up at baggage claim. She was dressed appropriately, and we were prepared with our winter coats, gloves, etc. The folks behind Jackie, however, were in for a very rude awakening and, perhaps, some frostbite. Leave a Comment
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