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When I was a teenager growing up in the suburbs of Boston and craving somewhere weirder and tastier, the MBTA open the world for me.
Today, our public transportation system is literally collapsing. This is perhaps a predictable but no less infuriating result of fiscal policies. famine And chronic mismanagement. But now is not the time to walk away (or rather move away) from the MBTA. Now is the time to embrace the system: demonstrate that Greater Boston wants a thriving, well-oiled transit system to avoid the traffic that seems to get worse every year. And to take advantage of the routes that can still take you.
This week I wrote about two very different things transit adventures that residents and visitors to Greater Boston can try this summer — in just one day, if they want! You can stroll through the rustling forests connecting the Lincoln and Concord commuter rail stations, stopping at Walden Pond along the way. And then, at dusk, you can change into more debonair clothes, head south and hit Providence's restaurants, bars and nightclubs. All of these trips won't cost you more than $10, thanks to weekend commuter rail. pass. A very good deal.
But would you believe me if I told you there are other MBTA adventures to choose from?
A few T hikes ended up in the Cog editing room due to space constraints. I take this opportunity to unroll the map a little more. Yes, it's time to go to the beach.
Many of you have probably experienced the Massachusetts coastline through your car windshield on hot summer days. You can imagine the scene: sitting in a cul-de-sac, looking in the rearview mirror at the beach amenities in the back, frantically thinking, “What if the parking lot is full?” »
But when you take the MBTA's Newburyport/Rockport line to North Shore cities including Lynn and Manchester-By-The Sea, you'll never have to worry about that. All you have to do is disembark, take a short walk and the beach will be there, waiting for you.
Lynn's main commuter rail station is currently closed for renovations, but the T has set up a temporary station (“Lynn Interim”) near downtown. From this stop it is only 0.8 miles to walk at the northern entrance to beautiful Nahant Beach, where cars queue from 8 a.m. in summer, competing for very limited parking spaces. One of Massachusetts' dirty secrets is that only about 12 percent of our iconic coastline is accessible to the general public. The rest is private property, figuratively speaking, and sometimes it is literally fenced off. Coastal cities have made it difficult for people to access the limited beaches that are open to all by limit parking for non-residents And imposing high visiting fees.
But public transit is an overlooked lifeline that can help you get around some of these obstacles. Take the Newburyport/Rockport line further north to Manchester-By-The-Sea and you can to walk Just over a half-mile from Beach Street, enter Singing Beach and waive the $30 parking fee. (You may still have to pay a $10/person parking fee, but a 66% discount is nothing to sneeze at.) And for $5 more than the cost of a single parking spot, you can purchase a single parking space. as a package for the entire summer season.
I have always considered trains to be a dream object, a means of accessing the world around us. Imagine where they might take us one day.
