Southern New England and Boston are bracing for the first big storm of the season, the snow is just beginning to fall, and many people have been sent home early from work. With 12 inches predicted our town of Brookline has already called a state of emergency — all cars are required to be off the streets by 3pm. We know snow can be a horrible inconvenience but to people like us who live without cars this is actually a pretty delightful sight to see...
Every time there has been a big storm in the city it's amazing to see the transformation that occurs. What typically exists as segregated lanes of pedestrian traffic, parking, and driving becomes one big blanket of white, all boundaries disappearing. It's amazing to remember how much open space the city has when you take all the cars away.
Just a few years ago, when we had a huge 36" storm, Charles Street became a thoroughfare for alternative transportation. Not only were there snow mobiles on the streets of Boston, but there were people cross country skiing, parents pulling children in sleds, and people slipping around on bicycles all in the middle of the street with no cars (or plows) to be seen. What an amazing transformation a city can have with just a little snow.
We hope you all stay safe out there if you are traveling and, if you can, enjoy the beauty!
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
That's really beautiful. I don't want all that snow, but it would be nice if it weren't 76 frickin degrees with like 95% humidity today! It totally ruins the Christmas spirit. Last time I checked, the high on Christmas Eve was going to be 80. :( Please send us some of that cold weather for Christmas!!
view TrueTex's profile
I'm a little bit jealous of these "state of emergency" conditions for your snowfall! living in Saskatchewan Canada (where?) there is snow half the year and terrible storms and minus 50 degree weather... and regardless of how much snow falls here there has never EVER been a snow day in the city. Or other luxuries like being sent home early. I've been snowed into schools and gotten stuck in teh streets countless times, and there is always sympathy and a little bit less restrictions than regular days--but never would they shut everything down. So, as I said, I'm jealous.
view sholt's profile
I got sent home at noon today! Currently curling up with the Macbook and AT while the beautiful snow falls fast and deep.
Love the bicycle pic.
view Griffin's profile
hello neighbor, from brighton!
thanks for the pic, it's beautiful.
I'm getting ready to go out and
shovel right now...
view baba yaga's profile
I love the snow!!!
Bring on more!!
view punkystyle's profile
So if you're supposed to take your cars off the street, where do you put them? I saw a couple get towed when I got home, but where did they go?
view charlenemcbride's profile
Yep Sholt, I'm from Winnipeg and I cannot remember a snow day. Freezing weather and blinding snowstorms but the city gets out its army of plows and people go on with their days. Mind you, in high school we had a lot of kids who came in from outside the city for classes and on snowy days they were often very late or did not come at all. On those days the word buzzed around the school very fast that some teachers and students would be late or absent (about a third of them) and all of the older students would rush out of the building very quickly and create a "self-imposed" snow day. They used to try to hold us in the cafeteria until our teachers arrived (bolt the doors) but we would get out through the service entrance or the girls bathroom. No one could punish us if they didn't know who had come and who had stayed home. Calling the parents of hundreds of students is impossible.
view prairie girl's profile
To our Canadian friends, most of us Bostonians don't get to have a snow day. You shlepp to work or the market or anywhere else you have to be when there is a storm. The snow emergency just clears the main roads so plows can clear the way for emergency vehicles.
view shayna's profile
Threre are a lot of us here from Brighton, aren't there?
view gordon's profile
Yeah, glad I don't have a car in Brighton!
view K T G's profile
Up here in the North Country (Southern NH, about 40 miles from Boston!) we only get snow days when the power goes out (as it did during the ice storm a week ago) and when the roads can't be kept clear enough fast enough like Sunday, when the driving was treacherous. Still (as of this morning) over 10,000 people without power in the state from the ice, which is also beautiful but terrible, too -- that makes about 10 days for them. Hard to deal with.
view SherryBinNH's profile