There
is most always "a better way."
And there
is a better post concert egress.
( I'm betting that this is not unique discovery,just one
that here-to-fore "can't" be implemented.)
At
the beginning of the 2003 Season, I revisted the Tweeter Center when there was no concert to study the access / egress in
light of an "off-the-record"conversation which I had had with a officer of the State Police. It was a pleasant
and informative conversation.
I called the Barracks to
follow up the other page in this report, " Big Bro, Where Art Thou! " For visitors that have not read the linked page, I recommend that you do so, before continuing for it states a problem
which provides context to this page.
To recap the conversation:
The State Police work very
well with the Mansfield Police regarding jurisdiction.
The State Police once provided
495 Details, but do not as a regular practice. The reason given was not "financial," due the Center's part as I
had suspected, but "usefulnessness" on the State Police's part.
USEFULNESS! Whoa...
the entire page "Big Bro, Where Art Thou" is all about the highway chaos because of their absence! This chaos indirectly
translates into the Tweeter Center parking lot as more people arrive early offering more tailgating time. Yet,
oddly, I understand the Officer's and other Troopers' point of view when they are placed in a situation of "grid
lock." They feel helpless due to the funneling access that follows... and they are then harassed by drivers (one
can only image) who believe that the Troopers should miraculously be able to make vehicles move.
Well, we discussed several
matters. And when we were finished, I was determined to find a VIABLE use for the State Police... or additional Mansfield
Police Details, since jurisdiction appears to be a negotiable matter.
"
A New York State of Mind"
Performed
by
Billy
Joel
Being from Pittsfield, MA,
just a few miles from New York State and the Taconic Parkway, I grew up on tight exit/entrance ramps. Stupifying
real estate extravagances such as MA's Rtes. 495/24 cloverleaf, which is clocked in miles, do not to this day exist on
the Taconic Parkway. Today, New York State tight ramps still exist and work even beyond the Taconic Parkway on
the NYC parkways such as the Hutchinson, Cross Bronx, West Side etc.
A "NEW
YORK STATE" RAMP FOR ACCESSING 495 SOUTH DIRECTLY EXISTS
Well...almost!
CUT
'N PAVE: THERE IS A "NEW YORK STATE RAMP ROOM" BETWEEN THE EXIT FOR 140 SOUTH AND THE BRIDGE OVER 495 TO
CUT A TIGHLY RADIUS ENTRANCE LOOP THAT WILL DIRECTLY PLACE VEHICLES ON 495 SOUTHBOUND. WITH MANSFIELD POLICE ON 140
AND TROOPERS PLUS A CONE RUN-OUT ON 495, THIS ENTRANCE COULD CURTAIL NEEDLESS TRAVEL THROUGH NORTON OR MANSFIELD
(School Street) TO ACCESS 495 SOUTH. AND IF DRIVERS MISS THIS EXIT, THEY TAKE THE 495 NORTHRAMP, EXIT FOR 140 NORTH AND LOOP AROUND SOUTH (
A FEAT MADE EASIER WITH THE SHAW's TURNABOUT). This ramp will only be open after concerts for rapid egress. Estimated cost is
low since the ramp will only be used by passenger vehicles in warm weather at low ramp speeds.
