Conference 7.286::massachusetts

We are looking into taking Amtrak to NYC.  We will be leaving from Rt128
University Ave.  Do they have parking just for Amtrak?  Someone said that the
lot fills by 8-8:30.  What happens if your train leaves much later?  Can you
still get parking?

We've tried unsuccessfully to call University Ave to find out if there is
separate Amtrak parking from the commuter lines.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Tim

> University Ave.  Do they have parking just for Amtrak?

  Good question. When I was last there 3 1/2 years ago, they didn't. Has
someone checked it out more recently?
  The official name of the station is simply "Route 128". This is important if
you are asking Amtrak or the MBTA for info.

> We've tried unsuccessfully to call University Ave to find out if there is
> separate Amtrak parking from the commuter lines.

  In general, individual Amtrak stations are not reachable by phone by the
public. This is an unfortunate fact that customers have been complaining about
for years, but probably won't change. I think there is a phone number for
Amtrak at South Station, but they probably wouldn't know the answer.
Probably your best bet is to call the
MBTA, try to get thru to a real person, and ask this question. As I understand 
it, the MBTA manages the parking lot and Amtrak owns the station itself.
  There is a proposal to build a parking garage when the station is remodeled
2-3 years from now. This is 15 years too late IMO. 

Okay, thanks.  I think we'll just show up early and hang out for an hour or so.


Tim

><<< Note 1585.37 by CADSYS::FENNELL "Nothing is planned by the sea and the sand" >>>
>                     -< Amtrak parking at University Ave? >-
>
>We are looking into taking Amtrak to NYC.  We will be leaving from Rt128
>University Ave.  Do they have parking just for Amtrak?  Someone said that the
>lot fills by 8-8:30.  What happens if your train leaves much later?  Can you
>still get parking?

I've only been there to pick up and drop off, but it has been recently.
There seems to be no parking that would accommodate AMtrak riders.
The big (REALLY big) lot is labeled for T users and is a one-day-pay-in-the-
drop-box parking.  There is a separate small lot (20 cars?) for Amtrak
that is labeled for pick up and drop off only.
I don't recall seeing anything there that would accommodate overnight 
or multi-day parking.

- tom]

    You may be able to find some info on the Amtrak Web page..
    
    
    www.amtrak.com.
    
    Debbie
    

I find it hard to believe that Amtrak has no parking.  That would be like Logan
Airport having no parking.  

I am worried now.  If worse comes to worse I'll drop by and find someone to ask.
Getting information has been tough.

But then, what should I expect from a government agency?

Tim

>> I find it hard to believe that Amtrak has no parking.  That would be like Logan
>> Airport having no parking.  

I don't think they expect people to do multi-day parking at the train stations. 
I took a train from Wilmington DE to NYC for a multi-day trip, and the parking
ticket didn't even note that I was away for more than a day.  I just don't
think that's the expected pattern of use; either you get dropped off or you
take mass transport to the train.  I wouldn't expect multi-day parking at a
Greyhound station either, although they may have it.  Airlines have different
expectations.

						Brian

  I just tried the Amtrak Web page. After some trial and error, I got a listing
for Route 128 station. All it says re parking is "Daily parking: Cost. 
Overnight Parking: - ". 
  Actually, overnight parking is possible if your trip doesn't cover more than
one weekday. The problem is that there is no provision in the parking fee
system to cover multiple weekdays of parking.

>> I find it hard to believe that Amtrak has no parking.  That would be like Logan
>> Airport having no parking.  

  The problem is part of the larger problem of a massive imbalance in trans-
portation funding in the U.S.: Huge sums of money for highways, airports, and
air transport and relatively small sums for intercity rail. Another factor is
that most train stations, unlike airports, are in city centers where land is
very scarce and expensive. Even though Route 128 station has a relative
abundance of land around it, the precedent of limited parking at train stations
has been set, and Amtrak chose to follow this precedent.

>      <<< Note 1585.44 by NETCAD::MORRISON "Bob M. LKG2-A/R5 226-7570" >>>

>Even though Route 128 station has a relative
>abundance of land around it, the precedent of limited parking at train stations
>has been set, and Amtrak chose to follow this precedent.

But there is a parking lot there, and it's HUGE, but it's all allocated
to daily commuter parking.  Just moving the dividing guard rail 40' and 
adopting Logan Express-style parking could solve the problem easily.
I agree that the situation seems to be that people don't expect
to drive to a train station to take a multi-day trip.

- tom]

    Last June:
    
    We parked our car at the 128 Amtrak station, took train to
    Virginia for a week, and came back to car.
    
    I forget how much it was but it was reasonable.

Thank you for that last response.  It saved us a trip to the station this
weekend to look for someone tell us about parking.

Tim

  It is still probably true that the lot fills up around 8:30 or 9:00 on
weekdays.