Roslindale
Day Parade
Sunday, October 14rd, 2007, 1:00 pm
Directions to Firth Road in
Roslindale:
Quick Anchor Links:
From
Downtown Boston and the North Shore
From
Cambridge/Somerville
From Jamaica Plain
From the Southern 'burbs
From
the Western 'burbs
From Downtown Boston and the North Shore:
Take Storrow Drive to the Fenway/Kenmore Square
exit. Follow Signs to the Fenway. After taking the
overpass above Comm. Ave,
bear right onto Boylston Street.
Take Boylston Street
until you get to a large and confusing intersection. You want to be in the
center lane at this point. You'll be sort of heading straight.... it will
manifest itself in a kind of bear-right-then-left-then-right-again sort of thing.You will then find yourself on the Riverway (there should be a sign on
the median at your left announcing this). This road will turn into the Jamaicaway after you cross over Route 9. Don't
be alarmed by this. You will go through three sets of lights after crossing
over Route 9, then you'll come to a Rotary at Jamaica Pond. Follow the signs
saying "Route 203 East/Dorchester" which will lead you to the Arborway which skirts along the eastern border
of the Arnold Arboretum (thus the Arboretum will be on your right). Take
the first exit (the sign says something like "Washington Street/Forest
Hills/Roslindale " or something relevant like that). There's a light
at the end of the ramp and the Forest Hills
subway station will be right in front of you. Go right at this light onto Washington
Street . After a little less than a mile , you will come to a traffic light
where there's a Texaco Station on your right and a playground on your
left. You can't actually make any turns at that light. One block farther on the
left you will come to Bexley Road (there's Roslindale
Auto Body on the corner). Go left on Bexley Road
and take that to the end. Make a left onto Florence Street, then one block later
on the left is Firth Road
(there is a large playground/park that runs along Firth). Go left on Firth and
park somewhere before the end of the street (at the light by Washington Street) You may be asked by a
parade official to move somewhere else nearby, but that's where my official
parade document says we're supposed to park.
From Cambridge/Somerville:
Take your favorite route to the BU
Bridge. Cross the bridge, then cross Comm.
Ave. then follow the road which bears to the left
then snakes along the Turnpike then bears right and becomes Park Drive. Cross over Beacon Street then bear right at the
large intimidating intersection that follows at the next light. This will put
you on the Riverway (there should be a sign on
the median at your left announcing this). This road will turn into the Jamaicaway after you cross over Route 9. Don't be
alarmed by this. You will go through three sets of lights after crossing over
Route 9, then you'll come to a Rotary at Jamaica Pond. Follow the signs saying
"Route 203 East/Dorchester" which will lead you to the Arborway which skirts along the eastern border of
the Arnold Arboretum (thus the Arboretum will be on your right). Take
the first exit (the sign says something like "Washington Street/Forest
Hills/Roslindale" or something relevant like that). There's a light at
the end of the ramp and the Forest Hills
subway station will be right in front of you. Go right at this light onto Washington
Street. After a little less than a mile , you will come to a traffic light
where there's a Texaco Station on your right and a playground on your
left. You can't actually make any turns at that light. One block farther on the
left you will come to Bexley Road (there's Roslindale
Auto Body on the corner). Go left on Bexley Road
and take that to the end. Make a left onto Florence Street, then one block later
on the left is Firth Road
(there is a large playground/park that runs along Firth). Go left on Firth and
park somewhere before the end of the street (at the light by Washington Street) You may be asked by a
parade official to move somewhere else nearby, but that's where my official
parade document says we're supposed to park.
From
Jamaica Plain:
Take
Centre Street south to South Street. Go straight under
the overpass.... Forest Hills T
station will be on your left. After a little less than a mile , you will
come to a traffic light where there's a Texaco Station on your right and
a playground on your left. You can't actually make any turns at that light. One
block farther on the left you will come to Bexley Road
(there's Roslindale Auto Body on the corner). Go left on Bexley Road
and take that to the end. Make a left onto Florence Street,
then one block later on the left is Firth
Road (there is a large playground/park that runs
along Firth). Go left on Firth and park somewhere before the end of the
street (at the light by Washington
Street) You may be asked by a parade official to move
somewhere else nearby, but that's where my official parade document says
we're supposed to park.
From the
Southern 'burbs:
Take Route 128 (which
may be called route 93 or route 95 depending on where you're coming from)
towards Dedham. Now, this used to be simple before somebody got the
brainy idea to remove the "Route 1" designation of the Dedham stretch of what
used to be Route 1. I believe the sign now says "to 1A North/Dedham"
(if you're heading north on 128, it's the exit after East Street in Dedham, and if you're heading south on 128,
it's the exit after Route 1 South). Take the road formerly known as Route 1
through (I believe) four (4) sets of traffic lights until you get to the rotary
by the Dedham Mall. There's a sign indicating Washington
Street/Roslindale/Forest Hills/Boston/ whatever like that. Bear right here
onto Washington Street.
You will go up a hill which dips then goes up again. At the top of the hill the
road narrows as you go down and the median strip goes away. I don't know how
many lights it is now, since they've added a few, but you should recognize
Roslindale Square/Village when you get there as the street lights change to the
cuter "Washington Post" style (as opposed to the interstate highway
style) and the little triangular park will appear on the left as well as
two large brick buildings on the right. Go straight past this light, then take
your third right onto Bexley Road which will be by Roslindale Auto
Body on the right and just past Dunkin’ Donuts and the vacant Ashmont Discount hardware store on your left. Take Bexley
Road to the end. Make a left onto Florence Street,
then one block later on the left is Firth
Road (there is a large playground/park that runs
along Firth). Go left on Firth and park somewhere before the end of the
street (at the light by Washington
Street) You may be asked by a parade official to
move somewhere else nearby, but that's where my official parade document
says we're supposed to park.
From
the Western 'burbs:
Take your favorite route to Route
9 East . Starting from the junction of Route 9 and Route 128/95 you will go
around 4 miles (I think it's two stop-and-go traffic lights, though there are
one or two pedestrian cross lights here and there along the way, too). You will
see an Omni Supermarket on the right and the "Mall at Chestnut Hill"
on the left. There's an exit here with a sign indicating something like (
West Roxbury/Hyde Park). Make sure you're not too early, there's another
exit before this point that says "Newton Centre/West Roxbury"). Take
this exit and go right at the end of the ramp (I don't believe you have another
choice). Take this to a traffic Rotary. You want to get off on the third
possible street on the rotary (make sure you go all the way from 6:00 to 12:00
on the rotary, don't get off at 1:00). This should be apparent when you get
there.
At the fork, bear RIGHT. Then go
through three more Rotaries (enter at 6:00, leave at 12:00), then you'll get to
a light at the intersection of Belgrade
Avenue. There's "Howard Chevrolet "
on your left. Go left onto Belgrade
Ave, and take it until you get to a "Do Not
Enter" sign where you'll be more or less forced to bear right onto Corinth
Street. At this point you will be at an entrance to Roslindale
Square/Village. Take Corinth
to the end (it's short) there's a light there; the Imperial Kitchen Chinese
restaurant on the left and an Italian restaurant whose name frequently changes
on the right. Go left onto Washington Street at this light. Go straight past the light at Cummins
Highway, then take your third right onto Bexley Road which will be by Roslindale Auto Body on the right and just
past Dunkin’ Donuts and the vacant Ashmont
Discount hardware store on your left. Take Bexley Road
to the end. Make a left onto Florence
Street, then one block later on the left is Firth Road (there
is a large playground/park that runs along Firth). Go left on Firth and
park somewhere before the end of the street (at the light by Washington Street) You may be asked by a
parade official to move somewhere else nearby, but that's where my official
parade document says we're supposed to park.