Move-In Week Primer
Where to drive, park, and unload on BU campus
There is good news for the 11,347 students who will be filling residence halls over the coming week. Compared to previous years, rerouting of traffic and street closures are expected to be minimal now that only finishing touches remain on the New Balance Field and garage on Babcock Street.
Although early move-in begins Wednesday, nearly 1,600 students are expected to arrive Monday. More than half will be freshmen participating in the First-Year Student Outreach Project, a program that gives freshmen the opportunity to come to campus early to volunteer for community service in the Boston area. The remainder are band students and athletes arriving for preseason practice, says Marc Robillard, executive director of housing and dining.
Wednesday is projected to be the busiest day of Move-in week, with as many as 2,700 students arriving on campus. It also happens to be the first day of the final freshman orientation session, which draws some 1,500 students—many of them from overseas and from such far-flung states as California and Hawaii. Scarlet Squad volunteers, the red-shirted upperclassmen who greet and assist first-year students to move in, are also scheduled to arrive Wednesday. Residence assistants, police officers, and parking lot attendants will be on hand to check students in and direct traffic.
Thursday and Friday should be less busy, but Robillard says he expects traffic to pick up sharply on Saturday, when the remaining freshmen arrive ahead of Sunday’s Matriculation ceremony, taking place in Agganis Arena at 2 p.m. Other returning students will move in on Sunday and Labor Day Monday.
During the week, check-in is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. New students can move in on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon. Continuing students can move in Sunday from noon to 5:30 p.m. and on Monday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The Boston University Police Department will reroute traffic at specific spots across campus, and officers will be on hand to direct drivers during the following changes.
Bay State Road
From Wednesday through Sunday, Bay State Road will be closed to through traffic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Residents, delivery trucks, and students moving into BU will be allowed access. BUPD Captain Robert Molloy says all other vehicles will be redirected down Beacon Street into Kenmore Square.
700 Comm Ave (Warren Towers)
Today and from Wednesday through Sunday, vehicles will not be allowed to unload in front of Warren Towers, to prevent double-parking and blocking of the bike lane. Access will be through the Warren Towers garage. Molloy says large trucks that cannot fit into the garage will be allowed to queue up on Cummington Mall.
South Campus
Today and from Wednesday through Sunday, Buswell Street will be one-way heading west, from Park Drive to St. Mary’s Street, and heading east, from Park Drive to Mountfort Street, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Molloy says the arrangement is useful in preventing traffic jams. “There are a lot of people who double-park,” he says. “You get one double-parked person on either side and you shut it down.”
BU Bridge
On Sunday, the BU Bridge will be closed for approximately 30 minutes, from 1:15 to 1:45 p.m., to accommodate the nearly 4,000 freshmen who will join Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore (SED’87) in the annual procession along Comm Ave, from East Campus to Agganis Arena, for Matriculation.
Harry Agganis Way/Buick Street
Today and from Wednesday through Sunday, Student Village residents moving into 10 Buick St. or 33 Harry Agganis Way will be directed to park in the Agganis Arena garage.
On Sunday, Harry Agganis Way will be closed from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. to accommodate Matriculation traffic. Buick Street may also be closed from 1:30 to 2 p.m. for the same reason.
Babcock Street
Today and from Wednesday through Sunday, West Campus students moving into Claflin, Sleeper, and Rich Halls will be directed to park in the New Balance Field garage. Students moving into 1019 Commonwealth Ave. can park in the garage or in metered spaces.
Kenmore Square
Starting Tuesday, the Red Sox play at Fenway Park for nine straight days, which will make traffic through Kenmore Square especially heavy. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, August 27, through Saturday, August 31, for 1:35 p.m. on Sunday, September 1, and Labor Day Monday, September 2, and for 7:10 p.m. on the following Tuesday and Wednesday, September 3 and 4.
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