Commuting to Cambridge on the MBTA— S Acton? W Concord? Littleton? (Belmont: condo, house)

[nooshy14]

Hi all!

We just put in an offer on a house in Acton. I will be commuting to Cambridge and I thought the commuter rail would be much better than fighting traffic even from somewhere closer to the city. But I’m seeing things that worry me about parking at the South Acton station. Guaranteed parking at $100/month but still a 10-Main walk? Unreserved lot full by 7? Other options super complicated? The house is near the Concord line so W Concord would be an option but it looks like parking there is $5/day and there aren’t many spots, I could drive to Littleton in 10 mins but can’t find how bad parking is there either...I’m getting really nervous and honestly thinking of withdrawing our offer. How bad is the commute really, and what do you think the best option would be?

[00na]

I have always been able to get a spot at West Concord, no matter what time of day. If you want a guaranteed reserved spot, there is an adjacent lot that rents spots on a monthly basis for about the same price as pay as you go. There's signs at the lot with the contact information.

For South Acton, you have to get there early. The nonreserved lot fills up with the express train. The reserved parking by Jones is on the other side of the station for you, and you will have to contend with some traffic crossing over to that side.

If your house is on the Concord side, I would go to West Concord unless you really want the express train. Welcome to Acton.

[redmaple9]

South acton gotta be there by around 6:40 at the latest for the 7:02 train and even then you may not get a spot — might have to park at the offsite lots. Using the shuttle lots is safer for regular scheduling. Littleton is worse. I ended up giving up. Too few spots. West concord never fills. In my opinion acton sucks for train service because parking is so difficult. Use west concord or live somewhere else.

[redmaple9]

Btw We bought a house in acton thinking we would be able to commute to Cambridge using the train. Parking makes it really hard unless you want to leave crazy early. If communizing by train is a requirement I’d makesure you like early hours or consider a condo in Belmont, for example.

[Dm84]

Where are you going in Cambridge? If it's anything other than Porter or Harvard you're going to have a very long commute, parking issues aside.

[nooshy14]

Thanks for the responses everyone! What about the reserved parking at S Acton? Do those passes get sold out or something?

I am going to Harvard so that’s why the commute seemed attractive— I can either walk from Porter or just take the red line one stop.

West Concord seems like a good option but parking there is the same price as a reserved spot at S Acton, and there’s no express train from W Concord, so it’ll all depend on how hard it is to get one of those passes it looks like...

I also saw something about a commuter bus? Anyone know anything about that?

[robr2]

Originally Posted by nooshy14

I also saw something about a commuter bus? Anyone know anything about that?

Here you go - it's not cheap and nothing about parking:

http://www.yankeeline.us/acton-concord-commuters.html

[nooshy14]

Thanks! Would be a good option except it seems like it only goes to Copley so
I’d have to connect to the red line still after that whole long ride... hm, this is tough!

[bugelrex]

For a state and population which is so liberal and so concerned about the environment, it's amusing to see how uncommitted they are to public transportation.

[yellowstatus]

Is a folding bike or kick scooter an option? I realize that Acton may not have bike friendly roads.

I live in Porter Square, and the walk to Harvard campus is 15-25 minutes (15 to engineering/science buildings, 25 to further areas on Cambridge side). Taking the red line one stop doesn't save time; it's mostly to avoid exceptional cold. By bike, it is 5-10 minutes.

Driving, finding parking, commuting, and walking sounds painful. There's additional time friction to transfer as well.