Parking around Courthouse/Park Street (Boston, Franklin: apartment, houses, transfer)

[CityGirlXO27]

Hey everyone,

I'm pretty new to Boston and I live in Brighton on the green B line. Looks like this summer I'll be commuting for work to the Courthouse/Park street area. I'm not too familiar with it.. but I've taken the T there from my house and it takes a bit over an hour with all the transfers. I'm thinking of getting a car up to Boston and driving there (according to google maps, the drive is less than 20 mins). Is this viable? Will there be anywhere to park by the Courthouse? I don't mind parking a bit away and walking a little. Will there be anywhere to park for FREE?

Thanks for the input and suggestions!

[litlux]

Will there be anywhere to park for FREE?

Dreamer.

Take the T to Park Street and walk to your destination. It might take five minutes. Better than all that transferring and waiting.

Driving a car into the city and parking is only for those with tons of extra cash.

[brightdoglover]

No, no and no.

[charolastra00]

Or for those who really don't care about the pollution they're needlessly causing.

Another consideration is if you have parking at your apartment. Over the summer, I technically had street parking included, but when someone with a car came to stay she had to park about 4 streets down because there was no parking closer.

At the very most in your commute, you might have to hop the red line to South Station. Boston's an easy city to walk- if it's less than a mile away, there's no reason not to walk it! A lot less hassle than the silver line as well.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by CityGirlXO27

Hey everyone,

I'm pretty new to Boston and I live in Brighton on the green B line. Looks like this summer I'll be commuting for work to the Courthouse/Park street area. I'm not too familiar with it.. but I've taken the T there from my house and it takes a bit over an hour with all the transfers. I'm thinking of getting a car up to Boston and driving there (according to google maps, the drive is less than 20 mins). Is this viable? Will there be anywhere to park by the Courthouse? I don't mind parking a bit away and walking a little. Will there be anywhere to park for FREE?

Thanks for the input and suggestions!

I was totally confused by this at first because I was thinking of the courthouses that are by Government Center, and wondering why you were talking about the red line and the silver line. Then it dawned that you are talking about the federal Courthouse by Fan Pier. That to me is not the same area as Park St, which I guess was the cause of the confusion.

There are a few options. First, you can take the B line to Gov't Center and walk a block to State St. near Congress St. Right by the Old State House somewhere you can catch the # 4 bus, which during the morning rush goes directly to the front of the U.S. Courthouse on Northern Avenue. It takes about 7-9 minutes but the last bus is at about 9:00 AM. Going the other way there are buses about every 15 mins from 3:40 to 6:15 or so.

Another option is to take a bus from Brighton to Harvard Square, and take the red line into South Station but I don't know that it saves you much time.

Lastly you could drive. There are a lot of lots down in that Seaport area for something like $8.00 a day, plus gas and a $1.25 toll if you go the quickest way on the Mass Pike, all of which adds up. Parking for free is not going to happen. I have a good friend who commutes from Brighton Center to A St off Summer St, and it's almost an hour by mass transit and 15 minutes by car (his shifts are not rush hour drive times). He does not drive (no license, no car) but thinks of it as paradise when he can grab a ride from someone. As a matter of policy I'd oppose driving to work every day in the city, but we've got to do a better job of making mass transit work for people.

[CityGirlXO27]

I meant the Courthouse stop on the Silver line. Sorry about the confusion!!
I currently live on the Green line (B) and need to get to the Courthouse on the Silver line

Thanks for the bus suggestion! That's definitely worth a try.

Seems like having a car will be more of an (EXPENSIVE) headache then a help, and I doubt I'll find someone to carpool with - I live pretty deep into Brighton. So now I guess I have to figure out the most efficient way of getting from my house to the Courthouse stop.. I don't mind walking! I mind the multiple transfers....

[holden125]

I totally forgot that there is an express bus from Brighton Center, the 501. It is more expensive than the regular T but less than driving. The bus starts at Winship and Union Sts and gets downtown (Federal and Franklin) in under 30 minutes. From there it's a quick walk to the courthouse. A monthly pass of $89 would cover the express bus, the regular bus and all T trains.

MBTA > Schedules & Maps > Bus > 501 - EXPRESS BUS Brighton Center - Downtown via Oak Sq., & Mass. Turnpike

If you're along Comm. Av. it will take a few minutes to get to the bus along Washington St. but it might be the best option. How far out are you?

[charolastra00]

It's really not that long of a walk from South Station to the Courthouse stop. I wouldn't think you'd have to take the Silver Line unless it was gross outside.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

It's really not that long of a walk from South Station to the Courthouse stop. I wouldn't think you'd have to take the Silver Line unless it was gross outside.

I second this.

You've posted this on the Mass. board; for future reference you'd get more responses on the Boston board. I this case I think we've got the bases covered and nobody can tell you anything that we haven't already.

Basically, other than driving the options are:

1. the B to the Red Line (and then maybe to the Silver)
2. the B to the 4 bus near Gov't Center
3. the 501 express bus from Brighton Center
4. another bus like the 86 to Harvard to the Red Line

Express bus is probably fastest unless it takes too much time getting to/from it at each end to make it worth it.