Overnight Parking Recommendations?

BreeFaith

Hey All!
I'm driving down from Rochester to PAX East this year, and I'm trying to figure out the best option for overnight parking. I've looked things up and found rates that are not the hotel I am staying at (The Langham) that are better priced, but I don't know if they allow overnight and if I have to repark each day, etc. I don't really know how parking garages work actually, to be honest. So if anyone has any advice, knows a good parking place, etc, please let me know!

Halfazedninja

Honestly, to avoid headaches, I would just stay at the hotel. How much of a price difference is it?

Randomfool

Howdy! As another semi-resident of Rochester, the best option is to drive to the Riverside T station and take the train into the city from there. Parking is ~10 bucks a day and you don't have to drive in Boston which is a huge bonus.

BreeFaith

The price difference is about 60 dollars ^^' and I'm a college student so that's a lot when I'm not getting a steady income haha

Moe Fwacky

The best, and safest bet is to park with your hotels. Most hotels only have enough parking for the number of rooms they have, plus a few extras. On event weekends when all the hotels are full, it's unlikely they're going to want non-guests making use of their parking. If the $60 is the much of a hit, maybe consider carpooling with others coming from Rochester and splitting costs of gas and parking.

sfford2008

Randomfool wrote: »

Howdy! As another semi-resident of Rochester, the best option is to drive to the Riverside T station and take the train into the city from there. Parking is ~10 bucks a day and you don't have to drive in Boston which is a huge bonus.

Moe is right about the best/safest.

BUT....

Riverside is a safe bet for overnight parking, but the lot is not covered. It is also in a very good neighborhood and I believe there are security cameras there, so you shouldn't have any problems with break-ins etc... Your cheapest option will most likely be the T station parking. I believe there are a couple of stations that have a garage, but sine you are coming from Rochester, Riverside is your best bet.

If you want to try for "free" parking, some of the streets around Lasell College (right now the street from riverside (5-10 min walk to the station) are free to park overnight. I would be careful about this though since you want to make sure you are parking in a good spot.

It all depends on your luggage situation since you will need to take the T, and you definitely do not want to be carrying a lot of bags on the T.

BreeFaith

Moe Fwacky wrote: »

The best, and safest bet is to park with your hotels. Most hotels only have enough parking for the number of rooms they have, plus a few extras. On event weekends when all the hotels are full, it's unlikely they're going to want non-guests making use of their parking. If the $60 is the much of a hit, maybe consider carpooling with others coming from Rochester and splitting costs of gas and parking.

I'm carpooling with several others already and between gas and parking being like 150 for the weekend it seems more economical to go with the garage a block away, I just don't know how that stuff works

Thanks for the comments about parking outside boston...I have cosplay stuff I'm bringing though and I'd prefer to have the car close. I also am not familiar with the area so parking far and taking trains start to get me anxious Plus Trains= more money

Randomfool

More stuff does make the trains difficult but parking + the train will be cheaper for sure. The T costs something like 2.50 to take it into Boston.

Every garage is different in terms of what they allow and how much the cost. If you really want to make sure you'll be ok, do some research and call ahead. But like others have said, the hotel is probably your best bet if you want to avoid carrying stuff all over the city and not have to worry about overnight.

sillyzombie666

an enforcer friend of mine just parks at the Quincy Adams station goes to south station then to the silver line and to pax. i was tempted to do the same thing but im just having parents or brother drop me off

stardust462

sfford2008 wrote: »

Riverside is a safe bet for overnight parking, but the lot is not covered. It is also in a very good neighborhood and I believe there are security cameras there, so you shouldn't have any problems with break-ins etc... Your cheapest option will most likely be the T station parking. I believe there are a couple of stations that have a garage, but sine you are coming from Rochester, Riverside is your best bet.

If you want to park at a covered garage, park at Woodland instead. It's the next stop after Riverside on the D branch of the green line and only a few minutes drive away. They also take credit cards, and I'm not sure if Riverside does (if that helps).

apparentlymarylee

I'm staying at the Oasis Guest House and the parking is $20 a night, but since it's first come first serve, I don't think they offer it to nonguests. Thankfully, as long as we get a spot Wednesday afternoon, it's staying there until we leave. They do say on their site that there are nearby garages for 30-33$ a night (but again, not sure if that is a special price for guests.)

Veive257

sillyzombie666 wrote: »

an enforcer friend of mine just parks at the Quincy Adams station goes to south station then to the silver line and to pax. i was tempted to do the same thing but im just having parents or brother drop me off

This is my plan. $8/day for overnight parking at Quincy Adams. I think the $18 unlimited ride card is a good deal too.

schuss

Sidenote just in case - don't leave anything in your car. I know it's common sense, but there should be nothing visible if someone looks in.

zerzhul

schuss wrote: »

Sidenote just in case - don't leave anything in your car. I know it's common sense, but there should be nothing visible if someone looks in.

I actually accidentally left my drivers window entirely down one pax for four days. Luckily I was parking at the Westin Waterfront and was right near the guard station at the very top of the parking area. I reached in to unlock and my alarm went crazy....

Moral of the story: don't be stupid like me.

aBByNormaL

Moral of the story: don't be stupid like me.

is this even physically possible ....

zerzhul

>.>

imnotalawyer

BreeFaith wrote: »

Thanks for the comments about parking outside boston...I have cosplay stuff I'm bringing though and I'd prefer to have the car close. I also am not familiar with the area so parking far and taking trains start to get me anxious Plus Trains= more money

As everyone has suggested, parking at one of the T's outerstations is the cheapest option. Parking is under $10/day and if you buy an unlimited weekly pass you can get around Boston with ease for $18 (alternatively a round trip to and from your car will run about $5).

If you are really looking to save money, I posted a similar question on the Boston subreddit and it was suggested that you could even park in a residential area and catch a bus in to the convention area. This definitely requires a bit more effort and a leap of faith regarding your car's safety but check out the link below if you are feeling daring. I used to visit a friend when he went to school in Boston and I have parked on the street before for an extended period of time... so it can be done!

http://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/1za91y/mbta_overnight_parking_and_general_getting_around/cfrw60c

rascal

This site is helpful for locating parking lots and getting an idea for hours and rates (but of course the lot operator directly for current and correct info):
http://en.parkopedia.com/parking/bcec_summer_street_boston_ma_united_states/?ac=1&country=US&lat=42.34572&lng=-71.04602899999998

aikoe

At my first PAX, we drove from Ohio (ouch) and parked in the economy lot at the airport, then took the silver line in. Parking for the whole weekend was only $40-50, and the silver line was about $5 roundtrip IIRC. There were five of us, so it was crazy cheap compared to the hotels, and not very far to ride. I had cosplay stuff and it was a bit of a pain, but worth the money I saved.

revengeanceful

Somebody in the Boston Travel thread asked a similar question to this thread's OP, so I'll just quote my response from there:

revengeanceful wrote: »

I've always had good luck parking at the Alewife Station for long-term parking. You shouldn't have any problem finding a spot there on a [weekday] night. It's 8 dollars a night and puts you at the far end of the Red Line, which brings you directly to South Station from which you can either walk about 15 minutes or take the Silver Line to the convention center. This is actually my exact plan....

Alewife is a little bit out of the way if you're coming from Rochester on 90, but not significantly so, and it would still be my recommended overnight parking place for how easy it is to get from there to the BCEC. It's also fully covered and very well monitored, so your stuff should be 100% safe there as long as you don't do anything dumb like leave valuables sitting in plain sight (and probably even if you do).

upstateny-dan

schuss wrote: »

Sidenote just in case - don't leave anything in your car. I know it's common sense, but there should be nothing visible if someone looks in.

I would love to save $ on parking but the "what if" factor makes me nervous about leaving the car so far. $39.75/night parking at the omni is a huge chunk but I assume their valet garage is pretty secure?

imnotalawyer

If you're using a hotel's valet service then only the hotel staff will have access to your vehicle.

schuss

upstateny-dan wrote: »

schuss wrote: »

Sidenote just in case - don't leave anything in your car. I know it's common sense, but there should be nothing visible if someone looks in.

I would love to save $ on parking but the "what if" factor makes me nervous about leaving the car so far. $39.75/night parking at the omni is a huge chunk but I assume their valet garage is pretty secure?

Eh, if you have nothing visible in your car, it's unlikely it'll get broken into if you're just in a commuter or out of the way lot.

shepd

Youtube "valet parking abuse".

Your stuff might not get stolen (then again, loose change just might) but if your car looks at all fun (and by fun I mean it runs, period) this can happen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klSGb0YDsrU

caerulean_blue

revengeanceful wrote: »

Somebody in the Boston Travel thread asked a similar question to this thread's OP, so I'll just quote my response from there:

revengeanceful wrote: »

I've always had good luck parking at the Alewife Station for long-term parking. You shouldn't have any problem finding a spot there on a [weekday] night. It's 8 dollars a night and puts you at the far end of the Red Line, which brings you directly to South Station from which you can either walk about 15 minutes or take the Silver Line to the convention center. This is actually my exact plan....

Alewife is a little bit out of the way if you're coming from Rochester on 90, but not significantly so, and it would still be my recommended overnight parking place for how easy it is to get from there to the BCEC. It's also fully covered and very well monitored, so your stuff should be 100% safe there as long as you don't do anything dumb like leave valuables sitting in plain sight (and probably even if you do).

Alewife is usually a good choice for overnight parking. Cheap and reasonably secure. Only thing to keep in mind is that the weekend of Pax on Saturday and Sunday the Red Line Service is suspended between Alewife and Harvard. It will be replaced by a bus between these stops so you may want to keep that in mind if you are arriving/leaving on Saturday/Sunday and traveling with cumbersome bags. Not a deal breaker but just something to factor into travel plans. If arriving on Friday it is running as normal. Link to the MBTA Service Alert below.

If by chance you park in there and you see any signs telling you not to park overnight in a certain area, follow the signs. That means they are doing work and will tow your car out of the area after hours. I have seen it happen.

http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/?ttype=subway&route=Red+Line#details

upstateny-dan

shepd wrote: »

Youtube "valet parking abuse".

Your stuff might not get stolen (then again, loose change just might) but if your car looks at all fun (and by fun I mean it runs, period) this can happen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klSGb0YDsrU

Well it runs but I am sure there are a LOT of more fun looking cars than mine haha.

dafuzzbudd

A lot of good info here. Thank's guys

BreeFaith

After getting in realllyyyy late, we parked by the langham at one post office square or something? Lot was secure, easy to access from our hotel and was 80 for the weekend, split between a few of us. For the convenience, it wasn't THAT bad. Also no need to move the car since shuttles are awesome! Thanks everyone for being so helpful with one another. I think I may stick to train or bus from now on though, sooo much easier then driving c: Hope everyone had a great time!

TopherRocks

Looooved the underground lot at Post Office Square. WAY cheaper than our hotel (Revere hotel was 40/night) Pretty easy to get to too!

cabsy

BreeFaith wrote: »

After getting in realllyyyy late, we parked by the langham at one post office square or something? Lot was secure, easy to access from our hotel and was 80 for the weekend, split between a few of us. For the convenience, it wasn't THAT bad. Also no need to move the car since shuttles are awesome! Thanks everyone for being so helpful with one another. I think I may stick to train or bus from now on though, sooo much easier then driving c: Hope everyone had a great time!

We parked out at Alewife coming in Wednesday night with a full cooler and a very large roller suitcase (and landed in town at 11:15pm thanks to some last minute car problems) and picked it back up today for $39 total... I definitely can recommend! I was fine and didn't worry about my car at all until the last thirty feet when I was suddenly overcome with panic and ran the rest of the way to the car... thanks, stupid anxieties