AAA’s Mary Maguire can’t offer any official predictions, but she expects the upcoming weekend to be a “triple whammy” for traffic.
“This weekend [has] foliage, the Boston Marathon — with lots of runners and spectators in town — combined with the fact that we know, historically, that the Friday before Columbus Day weekend is typically one of the busiest days on toll roads like the Mass Pike, one of the busiest days that we see all year long,” Maguire said.
All of those factors plus a favorable weather forecast could snarl roadways this weekend.
Not only does the marathon bring people to town, but it closes down streets, redirecting traffic in Hopkinton and Boston, as well as shutting down some MBTA stations, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation noted in a press release Thursday.
AAA’s Maguire and MassDOT made many of the same recommendations to avoid the worst of backups: Leave early, travel at off-peak hours and use technology to your advantage.
“My advice is use your favorite app or tool, whatever it is, to gauge the real-time traffic conditions before you head out,” Maguire said.
And, she added: maybe just don’t travel on Monday.
