How to Drive in Boston

From ATS Wiki

Contents

Useful Stuff

Budget

  • Reserve online (I guess technically you can just walk up and get a car, but it feels easier), pay online/at counter
  • Closest place is under Shaws (when you walk into Shaws, instead of going up stairs, turn right and turn the corner)
  • After talking to the people at the counter they'll tell you where to go
  • Either outside in the parking lot, or in the parking garage, second level

General Observations

  • Bostonians aren't the greatest about staying in lanes, especially on streets with sidewalks where people are getting on/off and things are being unloaded and such, so keep an eye out
  • Taxis sometimes do random things
  • Learn to parallel park - if you're lucky you'll never need to parallel park, but how lucky are you feeling?

Common Destinations

  • I basically just used Google Maps for these directions, and then they got familiar after a while
  • BRING A NAVIGATOR WHO KNOWS HOW PHONES WORK
  • Phone chargers are op (chargers that use the cigarette lighter thing are especially op)

Baobao Bakery

  • Vassar
  • Main Street
  • Cross Longfellow Bridge
  • Take middle lane at the stoplight at the end of the bridge
  • Continue straight-ish onto Cambridge St.
  • Keep going, you'll be doing a giant turn thing - stay in the middle-left lane, the very left most keeps turning left, the right lane has people turning right
  • Go past the commons and Loews - left lane after Avery St. so that you can...
  • Turn left onto Essex St.
  • Stay in right lane (left lane turns on Washington St.) - you'll be "merging" into the left lane, there's some construction thing that's been there forever
  • Turn right onto Harrison St., go straight - it's on the second block on your right
  • Park on the left side if you can, apparently you get tickets really easily on the right
  • After getting pastries...
  • Turn right on Kneeland St.
  • Keep going for a few blocks
  • You'll be forced into a right turn onto Charles St. S
  • Keep going straight, go through the commons (stay in 2nd left lane - lanes 1 2 3 4, lane 2)
  • You'll get into a left turn onto Beacon St.
  • Keep going straight until you can turn right onto Mass Ave (cross streets are alphabetical so you know where you are - Arlington -> Berkeley -> Clarendon -> Darthmouth -> Exeter -> Gloucester -> Hereford -> Mass Ave)

CMart

  • Drive down Vassar
  • Go across Longfellow Bridge (follow Tech Shuttle route, but don't turn after Kendall)
  • Stay in the middle lane, then go straight past the MGH T stop (it'll be like a arc towards the left, but still pretty straight-ish)
  • You're now on Cambridge St
  • Keep going straight (well, you'll turn and stuff, but follow the street) until you get to the Commons
  • Keep going down until you get past the theater, then turn left onto Boylston
  • Keep going, left lane turns left so right lane lets you go straight quicker
  • Keep going straight but don't turn left yet (you'll pass it, but the right turn doesn't actually get you there)
  • Turn right onto South St
  • Right onto Beach St
  • Right onto Lincoln St
  • Left into the C-Mart parking lot (YES THERE'S A PARKING LOT DON'T PAY FOR PARKING)
  • Buy Chinese food.
  • Turn left out of the parking lot and onto Lincoln
  • Turn right (not the sharp right) (moar tunnels!)
  • Follow signs for Storrow Drive exit
  • There'll be a fork at some point - if you take the ramp on the left you'll be able to go back across Longfellow -> turn right immediately after to get on Memorial)
  • If you go right instead, then drive a bunch (you should be driving along the river)
  • Then take left ramp up to turn onto Mass Ave, go across bridge, yada yada

Costco

  • Drive down Memorial Drive towards Boston, away from BU (this means if you're leaving from Next you'll have to go Vassar -> Amesbury -> left onto Mem Drive, otherwise it might be hard to find the right places to uturn)
  • You'll eventually get to a bridge-y thing, turn left onto Monsignor O'Brien Highway
  • (Alternatively you can drive down Vassar (all the way, don't turn onto Main St like Tech Shuttle does)), which turns right to become Binney St
  • (Turn left onto Third St)
  • (Turn left onto Monsignor O'Brien Highway)
  • Keep going for a bajillion miles
  • When you cross a bridge over railroad tracks start paying attention - in about half a mile there's a fork that's really annoying and missing it means you have to run around in a bunch of circles (not like I'm talking from experience or anything...)
  • You want to stay on the left side that goes UNDERGROUND (or at least beneath things)
  • Keep going on Fellsway (a bridge will be crossed), turn right onto Rt 16
  • Cross another bridge, then go right to get onto Mystic View Rd
  • Keep going, you'll find Costco eventually - it's a large building
  • Go back on Mystic View Rd, but this time go right
  • You'll get into a traffic circle, you want the second exit (that's going to either Boston or Cambridge, one of them)
  • Keep right, you'll pass through another traffic circle, go onto Rt 99 (/Broadway?)
  • Keep going straight again (another bridge will be crossed)
  • Keep left at the fork and go underground again (well not really underground but whatever)
  • Keep right at the fork (not the first one) (it'll slant up a bit)
  • Turn right, you're now on Memorial Drive