Parking on Marlborough - how bad is it? (Boston: car rental, apartment)

[redpetticoat]

My spouse and I are moving to Boston and we have an apartment lined up on Marlborough St in the back bay. We want to get a resident permit sticker to park our car. Is it going to be difficult to find parking every week? We only plan on taking the car out if we want to make some big shopping trips or to escape the city on the weekend. We will walk/bike/or use public transport to get to work every day. So I imagine we will be doing the opposite of what most people in the neighborhood will be doing in terms of parking. When they are all leaving every day with their cars ours will just sit there.

So if we just need to find a spot for our car on the weekends and let the car sit there most of the week, will it be easy to find that spot? Or do you think we should look into renting a parking spot?

Also, what do people do when they first move to Boston in terms of parking? There are no temporary spots available and I imagine it is going to take us a few days to get all the stuff at the DMV that is required for us to apply for the resident parking permit. So where do we park our car in the meantime without a permit? Anyone have any ideas? Should we just park it on the street in front of our apartment and risk getting tickets?

[DreamworksSKG]

Do you even NEED a car in Boston?

I might suggest if you're living in the city to not bother with a car. - there's public transit everywhere, and the back bay is quite walkable to various parts of the city, especially in good weather. In bad weather or when you WANT a car, you could rent a car for a day or weekend or use a car service like ZIPCAR. You join
for a small fee, and then you can use the ZIPCARS whenever you want, there are a ton around town.


If you must bring a car in Boston. The street parking around back bay can be tough especially in good weather with everyone coming around newbury street, and during Fenway Park Red Sox games or events.
there are a lot of resident spaces but they fill up quick.

You could also rent a parking space from someone who has a driveway or a space in the city. You can look on craigslist and email the people who have parking space rentals available. It might be a bit pricey but its worth it. If you have the money some garages offer parking monthly permits for betwee $100-300 a month. its pricey but to some people its worth it. I would suggest taking public transit and/or walking/biking (or get a scooter) or something. Or use a service like ZIPCAR or rent a parking space. Parking is tough downtown no matter which way you slice it.

Here's the craigslist link for the parking spot rentals
boston parking & storage classifieds - craigslist

[DreamworksSKG]

Here's the link to Zipcar too:

Car Sharing, an alternative to car rental and car ownership – Zipcar

[sm4269a]

You most likely will be able to get your resident sticker in one day. Get insurance and then register the car at the RMV and get your new license. Take the registration, insurance, license, your lease, and a copy of a letter or bill from NStar or Comcast (initiating service) showing your Back Bay address to City Hall and you'll get your new resident sticker.

Don't leave it without a sticker in Resident zoned spaces, bad form.

Hustling for spaces in Back Bay is not some trifling activity. Plenty of other people rarely use there cars too, so low turnover can be an issue. You have to watch for street cleaning and the occasional moving truck that will temporarily reserve spots in front of a building. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get broken into or vandalized. Lastly, never, ever, EVER, leave anything in the car.