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Well, we knew it would happen eventually: Pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween decorations have officially hit stores. That means it’s time for us to look ahead to the Labor Day weekend.
The road ahead: If you’re planning to travel in or out of Boston by car over the long weekend, get ready to share the road. AAA predicts there will be an influx of drivers around the city, thanks, in part, to college move-in season. Here are a few tips to help you avoid getting stuck:
- Heading out: If you plan to leave for your vacation on Thursday, AAA suggests driving before 11 a.m. to avoid traffic. On Friday, roads should be the least congested before noon. But Saturday, avoid driving in the morning. Traffic should get better after 12 p.m., according to AAA.
- Coming back: AAA predicts roads will be the least busy in Boston before noon Sunday or before 10 a.m. on Labor Day. (Steer clear of Allston on Sunday for Allston Christmas, when college kids, thrifters and anyone with a Sept. 1 lease descend on the neighborhood to pick through discarded furniture and other abandoned domestic goods.)
- One last PSA: Many K-12 students are heading back to the classroom, meaning Massachusetts commuters should also anticipate a bit more traffic in the mornings and evenings. Worcester and Somerville start school this week, and Cambridge and Boston begin classes next week.
The good news: The MBTA is now offering what General Manager Phil Eng calls the “best schedules we’ve had in years,” with trains on some subway lines running as frequently as they did pre-pandemic. Eng told Radio Boston on Friday that the new schedule — which took effect Sunday — includes Blue Line trains running nearly every four minutes during rush hour, Red Line trains every seven minutes, Orange Line trains close to every six minutes and Green Line every two-to-three minutes in the main downtown tunnels. “That’s important for our riders to know that they can go to the system and not even really have to think what time I should get there,” Eng said.
- The bad news: The Red Line diversion between Kendall/MIT and JFK/UMass will continue an extra day today, after an accident Thursday night involving several track maintenance vehicles on the Longfellow Bridge stopped work for nine hours. (One worker was taken to the hospital.) So, one more day of shuttle buses before normal service returns tomorrow.
- Pairs well with your commute: Listen to Eng’s full Radio Boston interview — which ranged from MBTA etiquette to new fare policies the agency is exploring — on our website or YouTube.
No staff on deck: There will continue to be reduced ferry service for the rest of the summer on the Woods Hole Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. The scaled-back schedule is a result of a national mariner shortage, which caused staffing issues and cancellations on the ferries all summer, according to Sean Driscoll, the communications director for the Steamship Authority. He expects the schedule changes will stay in place well into 2025.
- What’s changing: The Steamship Authority will run four boats to Martha’s Vineyard per day instead of five. For the Nantucket route, they will continue to run three boats per day, but in a different configuration. You can see the full schedules here.
- Is the Steamship Authority hiring? Many of the Steamship Authority’s captains and pilots are nearing retirement age — and their spots are not being filled quickly enough. “Generally speaking, you can’t just hire a captain,” Driscoll told WBUR. “It requires a lot of licensure and training. And it’s a very involved process.” It took six years for one of the Steamship Authority’s newly-minted captains to reach her current position, Driscoll said. “And that’s pretty quick for that process.”
The town of Plymouth will shutter its parks from dusk until dawn to help stop the spread of Eastern equine encephalitis. The mosquito-borne illness was detected in a horse in the area, putting Plymouth residents at high risk for EEE, according to the Mass. Department of Public Health.
- Heads up: Between 2 a.m. and sunrise, town employees will spray the parks and schools to better control the mosquitoes.
P.S.— Today’s Red Sox game against the Toronto Blue Jays is making MLB history. Back in June, catcher Danny Jansen played for the Blue Jays, and their game against the Sox was suspended due to heavy rain. The makeup is today — but with Jansen now playing for Boston! It will make him the first person to play for both teams in the same game.