So which is it?
According to the Boston Globe, possible disasters include hurricanes, snow storms, computer malfunctions, and terrorists. While I live along one of the major evacuation routes and am only three miles from the Boston Common, I did not get any information on this plan as I am officially in Brookline. I guess we fend for ourselves in Brookline.
What has me confused about this plan is that I have no idea where I am supposed to go once evacuations begin. The evacuation route ends in Newton. This is about five miles from my house and I have difficulty imagining sleeping in someone’s yard there. Evidently, I should have a disaster bag packed and stuffed with cash, which will be helpful, even in Newton, generally known for already having plenty of cash.
This is the City of Boston’s staid Emergency preparedness website. It does not inspire confidence and is difficult to read. Compare it to San Francisco’s, which elevates your adrenaline as you rush around looking for duct tape and containers to fill with water.
What amazes me most about this plan is the idea that the city could be evacuated in about four hours. Supposedly, police will line the evacuation routes, only providing access to them at certain intersections, and there will be an efficient exodus to the suburban sprawls. There people will likely be fleeing as well, though who knows to which plan or route.
In my daily biking around Boston, nothing I have witnessed leads me believe that 200,000 Boston drivers fleeing the city, will do so in a polite, orderly manner. That the desingers of this plan think so, makes me believe that they don’t get out very much.
