Report: Traffic increasing along Route 2
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

By Jason Lefferts

The route to work is often filled with obstacles from getting out the door on time to road construction and traffic.

The Montachusett Regional Planning Commission recently released a report that shows the increasing traffic in the Westminster area of Route 2 and a growing number of workers commuting out of the area.

"(Traffic congestion) is making its' way further out," said Brad Harris, of the MRPC's transportation unit.

"Commuter traffic on Route 2 has grown throughout the Montachusett Region. This highway serves as the second major eastwest connector for the Commonwealth and has a significant affect on development beyond the region," according to the report.

There has a nearly 20 percent increase of the amount of cars traveling on Route 2 just east of Route 140 between 1996 and 2005. The trips equaled nearly 43,000 in 2005.

The report uses 2000 census data to determine where area workers commute. In the entire Montachusett Region, about 6 percent of all workers travel into Worcester while about 2 percent of the workers travel to Boston.

The percentages in Westminster are slightly over the region's average - of the 3,425 workers 7.91 percent go to Worcester and 2.83 percent go to Boston.

The percentages in Ashburnham are slight below the region's average - of the 2,739 workers 4.45 percent go into Worcester and 1.79 percent go into Boston.

The report also showed that 48 percent of Ashburnham workers commute to either Gardner, Fitchburg or Leominster and 12.5 percent work within the town lines.

In Westminster the break down is 37.4 percent commute to either Gardner, Fitchburg or Leominster while 19 percent work in town. trip, about Jason's train ride. Who would he say would make it to Boston first? What would he think of our vehicle, a '94 Camry, and the fact that Karen spent $3.08 a gallon when she filled her tank at the Mobile Station in Townsend.

At 7:15 a.m., a fair amount of traffic has only held us up briefly as we start to spot planes leaving and taking off from Logan airport and the city of Boston rises into view in the horizon. Track 13, the Knack's "My Sharona" is playing.

Surprisingly, it is 7:22 a.m., 50 minutes after we departed, when Karen first becomes frustrated enough with drivers to swear out loud. The driver in front of our car slammed his brakes in the left lane. The closer into the city we go, the more erratic and defensive the drivers become.

Almost 10 minutes later we hit a momentary dead stop in Cambridge on the Fresh Pond Parkway. A sign informing drivers that they cannot make a left turn onto a side street between 7 and 9 a.m. and 4 and 7 p.m. says a lot for the normal traffic in that area.

We merge onto Storrow Drive and see a sign telling us that Boston University is the second exit on our right when the 80-minute long CD Lindsay made for the trip starts over again. At 7:50 a.m. we were in town, parking in front of the Four Seasons (paying 25 cents for 15 minutes of metered parking time). Since this spot only allows for a maximum stopping time of two hours, to spend the day working in Boston, we would park in the closest garage, located on Charles Street under the Boston Common. The weekday rates are $5 an hour, to park for nine hours would cost about $17, with a maximum daily fee of $25.

After a quick walk through the Boston Common (where we avoided a man in khakis and a collared shirt relieving himself against a tree) we reached our destination, the State House at 8:04 a.m.

Ugh. Back on the train.

For over two years, the commuter rail was the main source of traveling back and forth to work in Boston. Call if necessity and convenience over pleasant and efficient. Especially on a summer Friday afternoon.

This time, though, it's different. It's a little experiment to see what's faster: The train or the car.

Say this for the train, despite all its drawbacks - it's crowded, it's slow, it can be lessthan punctual, it's not always conveniently timed, and there is not the great music or coffee Campbell Scott promised in "Singles" - a lot of people take it everyday, and it can be a better ride in the car. It's far more relaxing, it's a lot cheaper, and as this little experiment shows, it isn't necessarily that much slower.

It's 6:36 a.m., the Globe, Herald and Metro are in the lap, and the MP3 player has been set to random play. The Counting Crows' "Daylight Fading" is playing, and brother Alex is one row ahead. The train rolls out of the station at 6:40, exactly on schedule.

The commuter rail has become a key piece of infrastructure of the North County area, especially in Fitchburg, where officials hope the train ride from downtown to Boston can lure residents to the city center.

The ride is long. Today's "express" trip is one hour, 18 minutes on the schedule. A train that makes all it stops, like the 7:20 a.m. from Fitchburg, is one hour, 32 minutes. But so is the car ride.

Last week, proponents of expedited train service, which would make the express ride from Fitchburg to Boston an hour, got some good news when Gov. Deval Patrick said he plans on including state funding for the rail project in a supplemental budget later this year. The project already has commitments for $100 million in federal money that awaits state match.

Local leaders say a faster train will increase the already-popular service, envisioning hundreds of new riders on the train.

When the train leaves Fitchburg station, there are 14 people on the car (it's a five-car train). The coach will slowly fill up at North Leominster, Shirley and Ayer. A bunch of people will get on in Littleton, and the car will be about half-full. In South Acton, the last stop before Porter Square in Cambridge, the rest of the train will fill up.

For the most part - particularly at the start of the line in Fitchburg - the train is quiet. Everyone is listening to music, reading, or both. Eventually a few folks - including Alex - fall asleep. Later on, in Ayer, Littleton and South Acton, riders with a few extra minutes of sleep get on the train carrying on conversations with their regular seatmates.

What the train loses in privacy and timing convenience from a car, it makes up in the freedom to not really do anything. Books and newspapers are read, music is played, and computers are cracked open as riders pass the time.

There's also gazing out the window. After the relative small-town rural trip at the beginning, the line gets industrial around Littleton before turning downright bucolic after South Acton. In fact, Walden Pond rolls by just feet away.

Up until Concord, the train is right on schedule. The train is dead-on schedule in North Leominster, Ayer and Littleton, one minute behind in Shirley, and a minute ahead in South Acton.

However, the train slows to a near-stop in Concord. Uh-oh. Is this is a major complication, or a short delay?

In the end, not even a delay, as the train rolls into Porter Square right on time (7:48 a.m.). From there, it's on to North Station, also precisely on time (7:58 a.m.). Somewhere, the Swiss look at their watches and nod approvingly.

From North Station, it's a 15-minute walk to the State House, and on Monday, it was a nice walk with Alex. The sun was out, it was cool enough to not get funky, but still enjoy the walk, and the walk up leafy and cobble-stoned Temple Street was an absolute delight.

Unlike Henry's friend in "Henry Hikes to Fitchburg," it turns out the train is actually slower. The 8:13 arrival time at the State House is nine minutes slower than the car ride (The difference? The 15 minutes from meeting Team Car at Parkhill, driving to the station, getting a ticket and waiting

to leave. That downtime was a killer).

In the end, being nine minutes behind was OK. It certainly wouldn't make a big difference in making it to an appointment or to the office on time.

Instead of snarling at traffic at the Concord rotary, there were some good tunes (including Springsteen's fabulous "Rosalita" and a live version of "Disarm" by the Smashing Pumpkins that had been forgotten), three newspapers read, and one finished Suduku. Back on the train was pretty darn good in the end.