What You Need to Know for Move-in Week

Barely a month after being converted into a walkers-only thoroughfare, BU’s new pedestrian mall is being drafted to accommodate cars during this year’s Move-in week for students.

Students moving into Warren Towers, at 700 Commonwealth Ave., will unload their belongings on the third story of that dorm’s parking garage, whose entrance is on the Hinsdale Mall. But during Move-in week, garage access will be only via the Blandford Mall, which typically is restricted to emergency and delivery vehicles. During Move-in, however, “the Blandford, Cummington, and Hinsdale Malls will be opened to accommodate move-in vehicles, just as they have been in past years,” says Dwight Atherton, director of Parking & Transportation Services. Cummington Mall will be used to route as much traffic as possible off Comm Ave.

Find a map online.

Today, and again from Wednesday through Sunday, the Boston University Police Department will enforce a ban on unloading of vehicles in front of Warren Towers.

Meanwhile, students moving into West Campus must work around the closure of the Babcock Street parking lot because of construction of the New Balance Field. The lot will be partially opened for Move-in week. “Hired movers will assist students from Claflin, Sleeper, and Rich Halls all week and during Saturday and Sunday,” says Marc Robillard, housing director, with Scarlet Squad student volunteers also pitching in on the weekend. BUPD officers will direct arrivals to limited, metered parking in the area.

Specifically:

• “All of the Rich Hall students will have assistance unloading their vehicles on Babcock Street,” says Atherton, with the University temporarily suspending parking meters on Ashford, Malvern, and Gardner Streets to provide short-term parking for arrivals.
• Claflin and Sleeper Hall residents will be assisted with unloading on Harry Agganis Way. Students moving into 33 Harry Agganis Way will find assistance by the entrance to that residence.
• Residents of 10 Buick Street should unload their belongings in Lot C-2 (the Agganis Arena surface lot).

After unloading, arriving students in Claflin, Sleeper, 33 Harry Agganis Way, and 10 Buick Street will be directed to the Agganis Arena garage for parking, says Atherton. Find maps of available parking here.

A warning: Wednesday, which opens the three-day early Move-in, will be the busiest day of the week. Last year on that day, 3,000 students piled onto campus, and this year, “parking demand on the Charles River Campus is expected to be extremely high,” forecasts Atherton, “and most particularly to the west of the BU Bridge.” He urges BU employees to take public transit or carpool to work that day.

During early Move-in, check-in is 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. For the weekend and Labor Day, the hours are 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the BUPD has announced its annual street closings to all but arriving students. Officers will help direct traffic during these changes:

South Campus: Today, and again from Wednesday through Sunday, Buswell Street will be one way from Mountfort to St. Mary’s Streets between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. BUPD Captain Robert Molloy warns motorists that while Mountfort, St. Mary’s, and Park Drive will be open, congestion from street parking and pedestrians is expected.

Bay State Road: Will be closed from Beacon to Granby Streets from Wednesday through Sunday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. except to residents, arriving students, and delivery trucks.

Harry Agganis Way/Buick Street: From Wednesday through Sunday, Agganis Way will be one-way northbound from Comm Ave to the North Loop Road around to Buick Street and back to Comm Ave. Those needing access to the Agganis Arena garage, the Fitness & Recreation Center parking area, 25 Buick St., the College of General Studies, or 881 Comm Ave will have to enter Agganis Way and drive to the Buick Street parking garage and lots. Police will direct students moving into West Campus dorms where to unload and park from Agganis Way.

The annual Matriculation ceremony for entering undergraduates begins Sunday at 2 p.m. at Agganis Arena. However, freshmen will begin their procession to the arena at 1 p.m., starting at Danielsen Hall, 512 Beacon St., and proceeding up Bay State Road before meeting up with additional freshmen at Marsh Plaza. They will then continue up Commonwealth Avenue before making a right on Buick Street and entering Agganis Arena. Note: Buick Street and Harry Agganis Way will be closed from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. to accommodate freshmen and their families. The BU Bridge will also be closed for approximately 30 minutes, from 1:15 to about 1:45 p.m. as freshmen cross the bridge entrance along Comm Ave en route to the arena.

Other than the loss of the Babcock Street lot, this year’s Move-in promises to be easier than last year’s. Unlike last August, when the University had to find temporary off-campus housing for 60 students, a sufficient number of beds are available for the 11,364 students living on campus this fall, Robillard says.

And the Red Sox have accommodated what is the BUPD’s busiest time of year. The team’s only home game this week is today, when they take on the Kansas City Royals at 1:30 p.m., meaning game-going traffic will conflict only with arriving First-Year Student Outreach Project (FYSOP) students. (FYSOP brings freshman volunteers to campus early for community service.) Last year, the Sox played at home two days during Move-in—against the archrival Yankees.