Non-permit parking in Somerville, MA
January 11, 2011 11:18 AM Subscribe
Free/non-permit parking around Davis/Porter Sq in Somerville, MA?
Is anyone familiar with which parts of Somerville have street parking (or parking lots where to leave a car overnight) that doesn't require a permit?
Thanks, all!
Is anyone familiar with which parts of Somerville have street parking (or parking lots where to leave a car overnight) that doesn't require a permit?
Thanks, all!
Park on Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge. There are some metered and non-metered spots (more non-metered the further you go towards Arlington). If all you're doing is leaving a car overnight and leaving the next morning, I think the meters stop running at 6:00 pm. The intersection of Day St. and Mass Ave. is two blocks from Davis.
Further down the road (Cameron and Mass Ave.) there aren't meters, and it's a five minute walk down the bike path back to Davis.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:29 AM on January 11, 2011
Further down the road (Cameron and Mass Ave.) there aren't meters, and it's a five minute walk down the bike path back to Davis.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:29 AM on January 11, 2011
(Correction: technically, that should read there is no *on-street* non-permit non-metered overnight parking--there may be some random private lot somewhere that you can park, but the city tightened the rules on on-street parking recently.)
posted by phoenixy at 11:31 AM on January 11, 2011
posted by phoenixy at 11:31 AM on January 11, 2011
Somerville is brutal about parking, even for people with permits. Given there's a snow emergency tomorrow, things are going to be even tougher. I think you're going to have to cough up the cash for a garage spot.
posted by ignignokt at 11:35 AM on January 11, 2011
posted by ignignokt at 11:35 AM on January 11, 2011
Best answer: Phoenixy and Ignignokt have it. You're going to have to pay for a garage.
I always liked the Green St. Garage in Cambridge personally. Very conveniently located on the Red Line in Central Sq. $13 daily maximum. (It used to be even cheaper, sigh.) It does tend to fill up earlier during snow emergencies.
posted by MasonDixon at 12:07 PM on January 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
I always liked the Green St. Garage in Cambridge personally. Very conveniently located on the Red Line in Central Sq. $13 daily maximum. (It used to be even cheaper, sigh.) It does tend to fill up earlier during snow emergencies.
posted by MasonDixon at 12:07 PM on January 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
Hmm...not to be contradictory, but to be contradictory (ha) I've found that cars parked on smaller side streets off of the main-ish street near where I currently live (Morrison Ave.) don't get ticketed if it's a short period. I do not own a vehicle, but when I rent a car or when friends come for a short period (weekend) they've never been ticketed parking on some side-street off of Morrison.
This is a complete gamble though and I'd trust what ignignokt, MasonDixon, and phoenixy are saying. I'm just proposing that, if you are the gambling sort, there is a decent chance you won't get ticketed. Don't know how palatable that is to you but there it is.
posted by dubitable at 12:14 PM on January 11, 2011
This is a complete gamble though and I'd trust what ignignokt, MasonDixon, and phoenixy are saying. I'm just proposing that, if you are the gambling sort, there is a decent chance you won't get ticketed. Don't know how palatable that is to you but there it is.
posted by dubitable at 12:14 PM on January 11, 2011
If nothing has changed since I last lived there two years ago, you can park overnight on Harris Street, which is half in Cambridge and half in Somerville, and where the parking is policed by neither. (I lived on Harris Street for a year, and never needed a permit.) It's not right by Davis, but it's within walking distance.
posted by ocherdraco at 12:53 PM on January 11, 2011
posted by ocherdraco at 12:53 PM on January 11, 2011
I usually just took the T from my place over there.
Also, when i lived in Somerville - over near Harvard, my boyfriend at the time ended up having to get a Visitor Parking Permit for $5.00. I think there were rules involved with it. Here they are
posted by KogeLiz at 1:07 PM on January 11, 2011
Also, when i lived in Somerville - over near Harvard, my boyfriend at the time ended up having to get a Visitor Parking Permit for $5.00. I think there were rules involved with it. Here they are
posted by KogeLiz at 1:07 PM on January 11, 2011
If you think you can get away with it, Tufts is still on winter break. Maybe sneak in a garage for the night? I'm not sure how strict they are so please don't blame me if you are ticketed or towed.
posted by JohntheContrarian at 1:08 PM on January 11, 2011
posted by JohntheContrarian at 1:08 PM on January 11, 2011
When I was sub-letting in Somerville a year and a half ago, there was non-permit on-street overnight parking available on Cedar Lane (specifically, I used to park just north of Highland Ave).
But, I haven't been there since - and if what pheonixy says above is true, they may have gotten rid of it.
posted by CharlieSue at 2:10 PM on January 11, 2011
But, I haven't been there since - and if what pheonixy says above is true, they may have gotten rid of it.
posted by CharlieSue at 2:10 PM on January 11, 2011
And by Cedar Lane I mean Cedar St of course. Oops!
posted by CharlieSue at 2:13 PM on January 11, 2011
posted by CharlieSue at 2:13 PM on January 11, 2011
If nothing has changed since I last lived there two years ago
Both Somerville and Cambridge have changed their parking regulations considerably in the last year or so.
There is no overnight on-street non-resident sticker or visitor permit parking in Somerville anymore, anywhere.
There is very little on-street non-resident sticker or guest permit parking left in Cambridge, but there is some. Better to invest in a garage, though.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:22 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Both Somerville and Cambridge have changed their parking regulations considerably in the last year or so.
There is no overnight on-street non-resident sticker or visitor permit parking in Somerville anymore, anywhere.
There is very little on-street non-resident sticker or guest permit parking left in Cambridge, but there is some. Better to invest in a garage, though.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:22 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Street parking in Somerville is pretty much impossible as a non-resident (and, frankly, sometimes challenging even as a resident). The only safe option is a garage. Also, a Tufts student, I would caution against trying to park in the garage, and I definitely recommend not attempting to park anywhere else on campus - in my experience, if you leave your car hanging around during a snow emergency, you WILL get towed.
posted by naoko at 4:10 PM on January 11, 2011
posted by naoko at 4:10 PM on January 11, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by phoenixy at 11:25 AM on January 11, 2011