Commute Time From Lexington To Boston Financial District (Newton, Arlington: houses, high schools) - Massachusetts (MA) - City-Data Forum

cjcjcj · 03-12-2007, 10:49 PM

Relocating to Boston area this Summer. Just wondering what the average commute time is from Lexington to Boston financial district (Park St) via Alewife and the Red Line. The "T" web site says its 20 minutes from Alewife to Park St. Is that accurate? How long does the drive from Lexington Ctr to Alewife take at AM rush alnong Rte 2? How long is the drive from Alewife back to Lex Ctr in PM rush? Thanks

LovelyBoston · 03-13-2007, 06:39 AM

The Alewife area gets completely jammed in the PM -- the road at and then just beyond the station has some stoplights that can turn the road into a parking lot. However, as long as you aren't going past Alewife, but just to the station, you should be okay. Coming home, you will get a little tied up at a stoplight, but it won't be awful.

Lexington is very close to the Alewife station, but how long it takes depends on where in Lexington. Outside of rush hour, maybe 10 minutes.

I'd allow 45 minutes overall from a commute from Lexington to Park Street, with traffic and the T.

But be aware: the Alewife parking garage fills up early. If you need a parking space, I'd get there by 7:30 to be sure. There are MBTA buses that go from Lexington to Alewife, if you want to avoid driving or parking.

Park Street wouldn't really officially get you to the Financial District; the State Street or Aquarium stops on the Blue Line are really more in that area. But as it isn't an officially designated district, perhaps your specific office building is closer to Park St?

whinton · 03-13-2007, 02:20 PM

My partner works in the Financial District and commutes from Alewife to either the Park Street or Downtown Crossing Station (we live in Arlington). 20 minutes is pretty accurate from Alewife to Park Street, but that does not include the occassional delay / wait times (the train runs very frequently during rush hours, though) I agree, 45 minutes is a good estimate of total trip time if you are driving to Alewife, somewhat depends when you arrive and leave the station by car as well as how far you have to walk to your office. I am not sure about wait times for buses from Lexington to Alewife, that may add some time.

cjcjcj · 03-13-2007, 07:31 PM

Thanks Lovely Boston and Whinton for the specific information.

My office is at intersection of Beacon and Tremont/School, so I think (but I'm not sure) that Park St is the closest T stop.

I guess would be driving from Lexington, and would try to get to Alewife at around 7:20 AM ish. Is Rte 2 jammed at that hour?

We have also thought about Wellesley or Newton, but they look to be more expensive than Lexington. However, I think the commute from either of those woudl be closer to 30 minutes (door to door) rather than 45 (door to door). Is that accurate?

Thanks again

LovelyBoston · 03-14-2007, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjcjcj

Thanks Lovely Boston and Whinton for the specific information.

My office is at intersection of Beacon and Tremont/School, so I think (but I'm not sure) that Park St is the closest T stop.

I guess would be driving from Lexington, and would try to get to Alewife at around 7:20 AM ish. Is Rte 2 jammed at that hour?

We have also thought about Wellesley or Newton, but they look to be more expensive than Lexington. However, I think the commute from either of those woudl be closer to 30 minutes (door to door) rather than 45 (door to door). Is that accurate?

Thanks again

At 7:20, Route 2 will not be too bad. It is at its worst closer to 8 am. That would be a pretty easy commute, then.

For Newton and Wellesey, the commuter rail takes 20 minutes into the Back Bay station, and then you could take the Orange Line from the Back Bay station to either Downtown Crossing or State Street, which are both very close to where you need to go as well. Overall, between 30 and 40 minutes, taking into account waiting for the subway and walking to your building. So a little closer, perhaps, but not by much. (You could take the Green Line in right from Newton, but there's no parking near the station, and coming home you'd have to wait for a Green Line D train, which can be frustrating.)

If you can afford Lexington, you could afford Newton -- they are quite similar for housing. Newton is a lot more crowded, though: more than double Lexington's population, and the houses tend to be older and much closer together. Wellesley is definitely more expensive; still, I bet you you find something, with some patience, and its population and the town itself are similar to Lexington.

Parsec · 03-14-2007, 12:45 PM

If you get to the Alewife garage that early, you shouldn't have problems w/traffic. The thing that would worry me is getting out of the garage in the evening. It can take up to 20 minutes just to get from your spot to the cashier since that garage is so big and everyone's leaving at the same time.

cjcjcj · 03-14-2007, 03:16 PM

Thanks to Parsec and to all for all of the replies

Don't they just issue permits for the parking lot at Alewife? Or some sort of "FastPAss" or EZ Pass system. Wouldn't that ease congestion?

LovelyBoston · 03-14-2007, 03:27 PM

No, the FastPass is only for the Pike, which you wouldn't be using, coming from Lexington. The T's parking garages are all first-come, first-served. If you get to Alewife early, such as 7:20 as you said, then just park as close to the bottom as you can and you should be fine. Years ago when I had to commute into Alewife, that's what I did. I'd get there at 7:30, and park on one of the first levels, and so getting out is not really bad. It is the people closer to the top who have real trouble.

But then, if you are trying to get out at 5:30, it will be tough no matter where you are -- not because of Alewife, but because of the stoplights out of the garage. Later or earlier is okay, though.

Ldickens38 · 11-02-2013, 03:57 PM

Hello, Me and my family wants to move to Lexington or Newton MA. We are Moving from Brooklyn, NY to one of the above areas. I have been looking into Lexington MA, can someone please tell me about Lexington, is it nice are the people nice? How will the commute be to downtown Boston and does Lexington have a lot of recreation for children. What Buses or Train do they have to get around on. Also, if you know anything about Newton, MA that would be helpful to. Thanks

MikePRU · 11-02-2013, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ldickens38

Hello, Me and my family wants to move to Lexington or Newton MA. We are Moving from Brooklyn, NY to one of the above areas. I have been looking into Lexington MA, can someone please tell me about Lexington, is it nice are the people nice? How will the commute be to downtown Boston and does Lexington have a lot of recreation for children. What Buses or Train do they have to get around on. Also, if you know anything about Newton, MA that would be helpful to. Thanks

I don't think you can go wrong with either. However, they're both pretty different places.

Let's start with Newton . . . it's a city made up of 13 different villages. Each village seems to have it's own unique "personality." Some of the villages are a little more dense and semi-urban feeling while some are quite suburban. Some of the villages have village centers with shops & restaurants while others merely have some scattered, limited retail. The schools in Newton are well thought of overall and Newton North High School is only a few years old. When it opened, it was one of the most expensive high schools ever built in the entire country. The big advantage Newton has over Lexington is access to Boston. By car, Newton is a shorter drive to Boston and many parts of the city have easy access to the MA Turnpike (I90) which is a pretty easy drive into Boston compared to most other area roadways. The city of Newton is also well served by the T's Green line, the commuter rail, and the bus system as well.

Lexington on the other hand is a town. It's more uniformly suburban than Newton. There are some areas of town with smaller lots and more density but for the most part the lots in town are decent size for town inside of RT 128 (around 1/3 acre commonly in Lexington). The school system in Lexington is also very well thought of and Lexington Center is loaded with good shops/restaurants. Access to Boston is not as good in Lexington. The main artery into Boston from Lexington is RT 2 which clogs up quite a bit more than the section of I90 coming from Newton. Public transportation options in Lexington are far more limited. There are a few bus stops around town that can take you in to Alewife (a T stop on the Red line). Some people might also drive to other towns for public transportation options.

There's also the question of your housing budget. Because of Newton's variety, there also tends to be a wider range of home prices in town as well. So, depending on your budget one town may be a better fit than the other.