Getting Around in Bean-Town
There is a common belief that the seemingly chaotic streets of Boston evolved from old cow paths. In actuality, many streets took their odd shape in order to avoid swamps and marshes. Early streets often followed shorelines that existed before the original Boston peninsula was expanded with landfill in the 19th century. Except for the Back Bay and part of South Boston, Boston has no street grid, which can be confusing for nonresident drivers. Roads change names and lose and add lanes seemingly at random. So what’s the best way to get around?
Folks coming to IMS from out of town may have heard Boston referred to as "a walking city" and for good reason. Boston is a compact city, just the right size for walking or bicycling and according to a Prevention magazine report in 2003, the city has the highest percentage of on-foot commuters of any city in the United States. In 2000, 13.36% of Boston commuters walked to work according to the US Census. This was the highest of any major US city.
The City of Boston works hard to maintain this label. Marking crosswalks, regular maintenance of traffic signals and pedestrian pushbuttons, and innovative pedestrian safety signs at busy locations such as downtown, and at schools, parks, playgrounds, elder complexes and libraries are a priority. WalkBoston is an organization that has developed a Downtown/Back Bay/South Boston Seaport walking map to help commuters and visitors get around.
http://www.cityofboston.gov/environmentalandenergy/pdfs/cityroutes.pdf
The timing of IMS in mid-June also means the weather stands a good chance of being ideal for a stroll through the parks and neighborhoods. While the trees will already have bloomed, the temperature should still be comfortable – neither too hot nor cold. Although the location of the convention center is the focus of a major urban development effort it is currently a little sparse on attractions and so many attendees will want to explore other parts of the city. While walking is an option, it is not the only mode of transportation in Boston. It is convenient to move around the city using the subway, buses, taxis and even boats.
The World Trade Center (WTC) is a 2 minute walk from the convention center and the closest location to hop on a bus that will take you to South Station where you can get on the subway and travel anywhere in the city. If you take the Silver line from the Airport, the WTC will be your stop for the convention center. South station, one of the cities major subway (T- red line) and bus stops is a mere 10 minute walk down Summer St. Boston has the oldest subway system in North America, with the first underground streetcar traffic dating back to 1897. Today the whole subway network is owned and operated by the MBTA.
In the early 1960s, the “new” MBTA hired Cambridge Seven Associates to help develop a new identity. The associates came up with a circled T to represent such concepts as "transit", "transportation" and "tunnel." Today, Bostonians call their rapid transit network "the T" and its subway is the fourth busiest in the country, with daily ridership of 549,000 trips excluding the Silver Line bus.
There are four subway lines in the metropolitan Boston area: the Red Line, Green Line, Orange Line, and Blue Line. The colors of each line have a meaning: the Blue Line runs along the ocean; the Red Line used to end at Harvard University (whose school color is crimson); the Orange Line used to run along Washington Street, which was once called Orange Street; and The Green Line runs into the leafy suburbs of Brookline and Newton.
The Green Line is the one to take if you are heading to Fenway Park to catch a Red Sox game (outbound) or across the Charles to visit Cambridge (inbound). This line is actually four different lines; it starts as one and about halfway (Park station) through the system it splits into four different branches, the B (Boston College), C (Cleveland Circle), D (Riverside) and E (Heath Street) trains. Because the split is only present on the outbound end of the line one may take any train inbound, but when going outbound one must be careful of which train one gets on or else one will end up in a very different place. The Red Line splits as well, with southbound trains going either to Braintree or Ashmont.
As mentioned, the Silver Line is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's sole Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, running from South Station (T) to several points in South Boston including the World Trade Center that is a two minute walk from the convention center and to Logan Airport in East Boston. Silver Line buses are wheelchair ramp equipped using a kneeling bus and a flip-out ramp.
Like the New York City subway, Boston's subway system does keep to an exact fixed schedule and it has no mechanism in place to inform customers of current train locations or estimated times until arrivals.
To ride the “T” you will need a pass, which comes as a plastic pre-paid “CharlieCard” ($1.70 per fare) or the paper “Charlie Ticket” ($2.00 per fare). Tickets and cards store value for single or multiple rides. Riders can travel anywhere on the system in any direction for the one fare. The T fare system now utilizes clean, modern fare vending equipment and let’s travelers purchase the reusable, rechargeable CharlieTickets at the station. If you will be riding the T numerous time and want the lowest cost fare, go online at https://commerce.mbta.com/program/ and purchase the CharlieCard. A pass for five one-way trips on the T will save you $1.50.
Cabs are pretty much the same as taxis in any city; however this is Boston – a city notorious for aggressive drivers performing outrageous maneuvers with their cars. If you want to experience mind-boggling and even death-defying feats behind the wheel, a Boston cab ride might be just right for you. So whether you walk, ride or drive your way around town, Boston usually offers plenty of adventure. If you want to truly experience Boston, any one of these is a fine choice.