Maneuvering Move-in Week
Where to park and what to avoid during one of BU’s busiest weeks
It’s officially here: Move-in 2015, the annual onslaught of undergraduates arriving on the Charles River Campus. In anticipation, several BU offices, including Housing, Dining, Parking, Orientation, and the BU Police Department, have spent much of the summer strategizing over details to make it go as smoothly as possible.
An estimated 1,600 students were expected Monday, among them 700 freshmen and transfers participating in this year’s First-Year Student Outreach Project (FYSOP), which brings new students to campus a week early to perform community service at sites across the Boston area. Others arriving Monday were orientation leaders and athletes gearing up for their fall seasons, says Marc Robillard, executive director of housing and dining.
No move-in was scheduled for Tuesday, August 25, but Wednesday, August 26, was expected to be the week’s busiest day, with as many as 2,600 students arriving. It also happened to be the first day of the final freshman orientation session, attended largely by international students and those from far-flung corners of the United States. Scarlet Squad members, the red-shirted upperclassmen who assist first-year students during Move-in, also arrived Wednesday to be ready for the freshmen and their families needing help Saturday and Sunday lugging gear into their new digs.
There will be a lull on Thursday and Friday, August 27 and 28, with only 1,000 students expected each day. Traffic will pick up again on Saturday, August 29, when most of the remaining freshmen arrive ahead of the Matriculation ceremony on Sunday, August 30, where the 3,625 members of the Class of 2019 will gather together in Agganis Arena at 2 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, August 31, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Resident assistants will check students in and parking lot attendants will help direct traffic.
A special Move-in weekend shuttle will run up and down Commonwealth Avenue on Saturday, August 29, and Sunday, August 30, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The shuttle will stop at 13 locations between Kenmore Square and Agganis Arena. This is in addition to the regular BU Shuttle (BUS), which travels between the Charles River and Medical Campuses.
To see how many students moved in to each dorm during Move-in week 2014, select Total Students Moved In or a single day from the menu in the map above, and mouse over the map markers.
During Move-in week, the BUPD will reroute traffic at specific spots across campus, and officers will be on hand to direct drivers during the following changes:
Bay State Road
Wednesday, August 26, through Sunday, August 30, Bay State Road will be closed to through traffic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Only residents, delivery trucks, and students moving in to BU will be allowed access.
700 Commonwealth Avenue (Warren Towers)
On Monday, August 24, and from Wednesday, August 26, through Sunday, August 30, no vehicles will be allowed to unload in front of Warren Towers. Access will be through the Warren Towers garage only.
South Campus
On Monday, August 24, and from Wednesday, August 26, through Sunday, August 30, Buswell Street will be converted to a one-way street going west from Park Drive to St. Mary’s Street, and going east from Park Drive to Mountfort Street, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
BU Bridge
On Sunday, August 30, the BU Bridge will be closed for approximately 30 minutes, from 1:15 to 1:45 p.m., as thousands of freshmen join Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore (SED’87) in the annual procession along Commonwealth Avenue from East Campus to Agganis Arena, for Matriculation.
Harry Agganis Way and Buick Street
On Monday, August 24, and from Wednesday, August 26, through Sunday, August 30, 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, August 30, Harry Agganis Way and Buick Street will be closed from 1 to 4 p.m. for Matriculation.
The Agganis Arena lot (the lower outdoor service lot) will be closed to faculty and staff parking permit holders Monday, August 24, through Sunday, August 30.
Babcock Street
On Monday, August 24, and from Wednesday, August 26, through Sunday, August 30, West Campus students moving into Claflin, Sleeper, and Rich Halls will be directed to park in the Langsam Garage and lot (formerly known as the Babcock Street garage and lot); the garage entrance is on Gardner Street. Students moving into 1019 Commonwealth Ave. can park in the garage or in metered spaces.
The Langsam Garage and lot (formerly known as the Babcock Street garage and lot) will have limited spaces for faculty and staff parking permit holders from Monday, August 24, through Sunday, August 30; the garage entrance is on Gardner Street.
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