Road Race Changes
City Councilor Bill Linehan is proposing several changes to the way road races along Day Boulevard operate in order to address problems associated with them. The practice of towing cars for races needs to stop. Also, surrounding land that is better suited for races, should be used and increased resident parking should be looked at.
During meetings last year on the issue of towing for road races, the State Police stated a public safety issue for needing to tow cars. The City of Boston holds charitable races all across the city where parked cars are not towed. For example, the Harpoon Brewery 5K was recently held in South Boston with minimal impact on the community and no towing on city streets. Cars parked along the route must remain until the duration of the race, a slight inconvenience when compared to being ticketed and towed.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation should partner with surrounding agencies such as the UMASS Boston Campus which provides a great location for the start of a race. It provides open space for staging the race, adequate parking, easy access by the T and highway, a waterfront route for the enjoyment of runners and proximity to Day Boulevard so part of it can still be used for races. Using this space would allow for less of Day Boulevard to be used for the race route, particularly the portion where Day Boulevard parking is allowed and parking space is at a premium. This seems like a logical solution to allow worthwhile charitable organizations to continue to use the waterfront area while ending the practice of taking away needed parking for neighborhood residents.
Another change that could help with this problem is to create a seven day Resident Parking Program on city streets from I Street to Farragut Road, matching the resident parking program on Day Boulevard. Weekend parking is becoming more and more difficult in the neighborhood and additional measures need to be visited to address this problem for the neighborhood’s residents.
