Boston's streets are buzzing this summer with a litany of festivities, and with them, the expected dance of parking restrictions and road closures. If you hadn't planned ahead, finding yourself in the snarl of traffic might be the unwanted twist to your Sunday drive, especially if your route cuts through the vigorous heart of the North End or the vibrant tapestries of the Back Bay and Roxbury neighborhoods. According to official notices from the City of Boston, residents and visitors alike are strongly encouraged to eschew their cars in favor of walking, biking, or public transportation for the duration of these events.
In what has become a favored tradition, the City transforms Newbury Street into an expansive pedestrian-only thoroughfare for the Open Newbury Street Series, running every Sunday from July 13 through September 21, save for a brief hiatus on August 31. Ironically as fate would have it, despite concerted efforts to offer convenience, the City has stipulated a 15-minute drop-off and pick-up zone on Berkeley Street and Clarendon Street, a change from previous restrictions and a small olive branch to the inevitable congestion that these street festivals breed.
Runners and their cheering entourages will own the roads for the Run to Home Base event on July 26, a race coursing from Jersey Street and looping into Cambridge before returning triumphant across Fenway Park's home plate. The City warns of "necessary temporary parking restrictions" on several nearby streets to accommodate an expected 10,000-strong crowd raring the runners up to the finish line.
Not to be overshadowed in the summer's parade of celebrations is the North End, a historically rich tapestry that weaves together tight-knit community celebrations with throngs of visitors. Block parties and feasts dedicated to various saints, including the Saint Joseph's Procession on Sunday and the Saint Agrippina Feast, which spans from next Thursday to August 3, adorn the neighborhood with the exquisite vestiges of tradition, cultures clinking like glasses in mirthful toasts, punctuating a season of reverence and exuberance. Numerous streets throughout the North End will see closures and parking enforcement, adjusting the usual rhythms of traffic to the tempo of its street festivals and parades. The City has approved closures and parking restrictions as detailed in the advisory.
Elsewhere, the vibrant colors and sounds of the Puerto Rican Parade and Festival will sweep through Roxbury on Sunday, vivid as ever and requiring the temporary closure of several corridors along its path. Not a day sooner, the ebullient Nubian Square Block Party tomorrow will see Washington Street embrace its own shutdown for a collective celebration amid the summer heat. For those navigating these neighborhood's goings-on, the City advises keeping an eye out for posted parking restrictions to skirt any potential trouble spots.
