Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte 

Last weekend‘s PorchFest was a complete success except for the problem of hundreds of people taking to the streets. Everyone had a blast and there were tons of great acts to listen to and watch. My two sons’ band Mallcops actually made it on to Channel 5 News Facebook page and on the news. They got thousands of views. My opinion is that they should have some more Porta Potties strategically placed around the city and maybe some more cops to direct traffic. Crossing the bike path in a vehicle at Willow Ave. was almost impossible.

I asked my social media friends for their thoughts on this year’s spectacular Porchfest. Comments are in quotes.

“We were riding down Cedar Street, and the same thing when we made it to the bike path. They should of had police directing pedestrians and traffic!”

— Photos courtesy of WCVB-TV

“They should have several streets blocked off. Have a block party in every section of the city. Someone is going to get hurt the way it is set up now.”

“Insane!! I couldn’t find a spot to park! Lots of talent in Somerville.

“Porchfest is a fine idea as long as everyone plays by the rules. There were Porta Potties provided, and they were marked on the website/links. It seems like a lot of the two-hour limits were ignored. The audiences have to remember that they are guests, and do not have the right to block traffic and the forget about civility. At least it’s only one day a year.”

“Porchfest itself is a wonderful idea but there is absolutely no enforcement of traffic, open containers, littering, following times established, etc. Tried to leave my house after it was supposed to be over and crowd WOULD NOT MOVE! Had to exit my street going in the wrong direction towards oncoming traffic. Not cool.”

Well, there you have it. Another PorchFest fest in the books. Hopefully we can solve the problems that we had this year and make next year’s Porchfest go smoother. I might put together my old band and play in our driveway next year!