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PAX East Cost

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Posts

  • robirexrobirex BostonRegistered User regular
    Cutriss wrote: »
    Alewife isn't really that great from the north. You're basically going 15m out of your way. Better to just go to Malden Center really. The only advantage I'd see to going to Alewife is that if you're planning to stay out rather late, you're less likely to run into problems with the last trip out if you only have one line change instead of two.

    Alewife is $7 if you can be in and out within 14 hours, $15 after. That's not really much better than parking in the BCEC lots really.

    Ew, Malden Center. Have you ever tried parking at Malden Center? You have to be there by no later than 7am in order to get a crappy spot at a some off-site mangy garage with needles all over the ground. Maybe it has cleaned up since then, but I doubt it. Alewife isn't too much better about the time, but over the weekend it is so much better. More parking spots, cleaner facility, one spot in the lobby to pay vs. all the off-site garages in Malden and their different payment systems (as far as I understand it doesn't look to be all LA Z Parking).

    If we are just talking about pricing Malden is likely cheaper. I haven't parked there in several years so I wouldn't know anymore. The probability of getting stabbed is just significantly lower at Alewife. As far as the price, isn't BCEC $30/day? 50% discount or if you can't get a spot at the BCEC then you will be begging for Alewife if you have to park at your hotel for the weekend. Crazy prices. Regarding time, you are travelling about the same amount of time. For example, Haverhill to Malden Center is 41 mins. Haverhill to Alewife is 46 mins.

    As a rule, the stops on the red line will end up being a better choice than the stops on the orange line for the most part. I've heard Wellington Station is actually decent though if someone lives near there. I hope that helps.

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  • craiolacraiola MARegistered User regular
    Cutriss wrote: »
    robirex wrote: »
    I'm not sure if this is what Sepioth does for parking, but if I was to take my car in I definitely would not park it in the Seaport district. Way too expensive for more of the places down there. I would park it somewhere outside of the city. Alewife if you're coming from the north and I think people like Quincy if you're coming from the south. I'm not sure of the actual numbers, but it is so much cheaper. Then, just take the T in from there.
    Alewife isn't really that great from the north. You're basically going 15m out of your way. Better to just go to Malden Center really. The only advantage I'd see to going to Alewife is that if you're planning to stay out rather late, you're less likely to run into problems with the last trip out if you only have one line change instead of two.

    Alewife is $7 if you can be in and out within 14 hours, $15 after. That's not really much better than parking in the BCEC lots really.

    I'd say it depends. I'm coming from Lowell and I always park at Alewife. I find it to have the most parking and I feel more secure leaving my car in a garage as opposed to a lot. The difference is the BCEC lots won't allow overnight parking. So you'd have to constantly find parking.

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  • robirexrobirex BostonRegistered User regular
    craiola wrote: »
    I'd say it depends. I'm coming from Lowell and I always park at Alewife. I find it to have the most parking and I feel more secure leaving my car in a garage as opposed to a lot. The difference is the BCEC lots won't allow overnight parking. So you'd have to constantly find parking.

    Yeah, I come from Lowell as well, so same thing. Although, I would much rather stay in the city for the 3-4 days and take the train in. That's what I did last year and it was wonderful haha.

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  • craiolacraiola MARegistered User regular
    robirex wrote: »
    craiola wrote: »
    I'd say it depends. I'm coming from Lowell and I always park at Alewife. I find it to have the most parking and I feel more secure leaving my car in a garage as opposed to a lot. The difference is the BCEC lots won't allow overnight parking. So you'd have to constantly find parking.

    Yeah, I come from Lowell as well, so same thing. Although, I would much rather stay in the city for the 3-4 days and take the train in. That's what I did last year and it was wonderful haha.
    That's exactly what we do. We leave our car at Alewife Thursday night and pick it up Sunday evening and it's perfect :)

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  • CutrissCutriss El Bastardo Registered User regular
    Yeah, if that's what you're doing, Alewife's probably better, though honestly you can probably sneak some parking near Oak Grove and then forget the parking fees entirely.

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  • EL_Limon_CubanoEL_Limon_Cubano Boston, MARegistered User regular
    edited November 2016
    Hey all,

    I live in Boston. Best price for parking is the T stations if not parking at BCEC which i have never done since i take the T. I'm listing the stations that I think are best based on location and parking spaces avail. Parking is $7 and $15 for 14+ hrs.

    From the South: Braintree and Quicy Adams (Red Line right to South Station)
    From the North: Oak Grove (no overnight) and Alewife (Oak grove is Orange and Alewife in Red line)
    From the West: Alewife and Riverside (Alewife is Red and Riverside is Green line D Branch)
    From the East: Wonderland (Blue Line)

    If taking any trains not the Red you need to transfer to it. Orange transfers at Downtown Crossing and Green at Park. Blue line you will need to transfer twice.

    Also be aware that there are no meters on Sunday so street parking is free. Also, areas like Brighton and Alston have many non-resident parking that is not metered. I think the same goes for many areas in the south. Not sure north like Malden and Cambridge. You can drive around and look for these and then jump on the green line or bus route 57 if parking in Brighton/Alston..


    If you are looking to saving hotel $ look outside the city. Hotels in the city are pricey but go outside to the Natick, Framingham, Leominster areas and you can save a lot of money. Motel 6 at Framingham is around $60 - $75 a night I believe and you can find your way to a Commuter train or rent a car and still save money vs staying in the city. There are also Motor-ins that are dirt cheap if you don't require anything nice.


    For food I would recommend going to Diners for eating out. They are really cheap. A good one that many people go to here is Busy Bee in Brookline but there are many. I would recommend going near the Schools since they cater to students who are always looking to save $$. For example, around Berkeley there are cheap places. Boston University as well. In fact the food court at BU allows outsiders. East boston also has cheap eats. There is also Cambridge Side mall at Leachmere stop which has a decent food court. There are a lot of hole in the walls in the city.


    Feel free to contact me if you want more info or tips. I live in the city of Boston.

    EL_Limon_Cubano on
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  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    We do Wellington station when we go into Boston for the day and want to park cheap. It's a bit trafficky sometime, but it's a very nice area around the parking garage itself and I think it's about $7ish a day for parking.

  • EL_Limon_CubanoEL_Limon_Cubano Boston, MARegistered User regular
    We do Wellington station when we go into Boston for the day and want to park cheap. It's a bit trafficky sometime, but it's a very nice area around the parking garage itself and I think it's about $7ish a day for parking.

    Yeah, Only issues to coming from outside even if parking at the station is traffic. But that should only really be a big issue on Friday with work.

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  • TheAggroCraigTheAggroCraig Ultimate Lucky Douchebag MassachusettsRegistered User regular
    It's worth noting that if you park at Wonderland off the blue line, you can also get off at the Airport stop and take the silver line to the Seaport as well.

  • hsuhsu Registered User regular
    If you are looking to saving hotel $ look outside the city. Hotels in the city are pricey but go outside to the Natick, Framingham, Leominster areas and you can save a lot of money. Motel 6 at Framingham is around $60 - $75 a night I believe and you can find your way to a Commuter train or rent a car and still save money vs staying in the city.
    I too live near Boston, about a mile from a T stop, and you absolutely, positively want a hotel much, much closer to Boston than Natick, Framingham, or Leominster. You'd be far from the city, traveling during rush hour, on popular routes, looking at 1.5 hour travel times, for both the commuter rail and driving.

    And speaking of driving, metro Boston developed before the car. Thus the lanes are narrow, none of the roads are straight, none of the roads are laid out logically, one way streets abound, and everyone drives aggressively. The meme below is spot on.
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    Realistically, your hotel should be in downtown Boston or it should be next to a blue/orange/red line T stop, the less stops to downtown Boston the better.

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  • EL_Limon_CubanoEL_Limon_Cubano Boston, MARegistered User regular
    edited November 2016
    hsu wrote: »
    If you are looking to saving hotel $ look outside the city. Hotels in the city are pricey but go outside to the Natick, Framingham, Leominster areas and you can save a lot of money. Motel 6 at Framingham is around $60 - $75 a night I believe and you can find your way to a Commuter train or rent a car and still save money vs staying in the city.
    I too live near Boston, about a mile from a T stop, and you absolutely, positively want a hotel much, much closer to Boston than Natick, Framingham, or Leominster. You'd be far from the city, traveling during rush hour, on popular routes, looking at 1.5 hour travel times, for both the commuter rail and driving.

    And speaking of driving, metro Boston developed before the car. Thus the lanes are narrow, none of the roads are straight, none of the roads are laid out logically, one way streets abound, and everyone drives aggressively. The meme below is spot on.
    funny-New-York-city-map.jpg
    Realistically, your hotel should be in downtown Boston or it should be next to a blue/orange/red line T stop, the less stops to downtown Boston the better.

    I mentioned those areas for ppl really trying to save money. Of course the closer the better but for saving money sometimes you give up time for $. I stayed out in Framingham for several months before I moved into the city and the commute from there to the turnpike and i95 corridor is not all that bad around 645 - 700 am because I used to do it every morning for work. once on the corridor Riverside stop is an additional 5 min drive. But Friday is really the only bad traffic day and if you head out early enough you might avoid it. Sat and Sun should be easy getting into the city no matter the mode of transport.

    So yes, agreed that the closer the better. But hotels in downtown area are nothing but pricey and i'm just giving options for those really looking at every option to save money.

    BTW, I cant see the meme. is it the one with NY and Boston where NY says "because we want you to know where you are going" and Bos says "Because f you"? lol

    EL_Limon_Cubano on
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  • EL_Limon_CubanoEL_Limon_Cubano Boston, MARegistered User regular
    It's worth noting that if you park at Wonderland off the blue line, you can also get off at the Airport stop and take the silver line to the Seaport as well.

    True, Silver line runs at the Airport and might be a great option as well.

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  • ClannMorganClannMorgan Registered User regular

    Natick, Framingham, Leominster areas and you can save a lot of money.

    I agree that you can save money staying in these areas, but they are a ways from the Seaport area of the convention center, especially Leominster...that is like a 1.5 hr drive if the traffic is good. Any monetary savings will not make up for the aggravation and time wasted commuting back and forth.

    There are several hotels right outside of the downtown area which have good amenities and are close to the express way (if you are driving) or T (bus/subway). I would suggest looking in Quincy, Braintree, Brighton, Cambridge, heck even Somerville. You may also want to look at smaller boutique hotels, are even AirBnB.

  • yutani sanyutani san MaineRegistered User regular
    Don't forget the shuttle system that is FREE to use. I always stay at the Midtown (super cheap, but the staff has always been awesome and the room is clean, thats all that matters). You can save money by staying at one of the outer hotels like Midtown and then use the Pax shuttle to and from the convention all weekend. I take the Amtrak to Boston and take the subway to my hotel and thats all I have to pay for travel.

  • SepiothSepioth Boston, MARegistered User regular
    Wellington Station is a great place to park. Plenty of spaces. Word of caution though, for those interested in parking at the Wellington T station, do give yourself extra time on each morning, even more on Friday, as that area is heavy on traffic from like 6am until about 9ish. I'm talking bumper to bumper along Rt 16. What normally takes about 5 mins can take up to 15-20 mins.

    There is also road construction in the Wellington area that is planned for 2 years starting so it will still be going during and after PAX. It sucks now and may suck even more then.

    http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/main/tabid/1075/ctl/detail/mid/2937/itemid/725/Construction-Alert--Medford--Everett-Route-16--Revere-Beach-Parkway---over-the-MBTA--Wellington-Station--.aspx

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  • imnotalawyerimnotalawyer Registered User regular
    edited November 2016
    Given that there were a number of CT posts about parking, I just wanted to corroborate EL_Limon_Cubano's fantastic post.

    2017 will be my fifth East, having driven up from CT each time. My first year I parked in the Waterfront's garage (rookie mistake!) and every year after that I have parked at Quincy Adams. It is literally a fraction of the cost of parking in the city and a breeze to get into Boston. You just hop on the Red Line to South Station and transfer to the Silver Line (and get off at the World Trade stop). That will put you on the bridge between BCEC and the Seaport Hotel.


    imnotalawyer on
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