Commuter Rail Riders' Cars Crowd Hyde Park Neighborhood
BOSTON (CBS) - The Fairmount Hill neighborhood in Hyde Park has been filled with cars.
"Well, it is crowded and we are not used to it," Vincent Mazzarella said.
The people who live in this neighborhood are willing to bet none of them are theirs.
"You shouldn't have to walk back to your house because you can't find a parking space, that has never happened here before," Bob Vance explained.
They say ever since the T raised the fare at the Readville Station, which has a parking lot, commuters started driving to Fairmount which has the cheaper fair but no parking lot. Leading them right into the neighborhoods.
"We lowered Fairmount station to zone 1A fares to $2.50. So this is the popular place to park," Vance added.
Now cars are parked up on the sidewalks on both sides of the street and now some residents are having trouble getting out of their own driveways
"Backing out you don't have any visibility at all and living on a hill as they come up the hill they are coming at a faster speed," Mazzarella added.
Neighbors could come together and push for resident only parking but that isn't something they see as a complete fix.
"Then you've got friends visiting and nurses. They don't have a resident sticker… we don't want them to get tickets," Vance said.
Or look at what Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu says is the bigger issue, making fares and parking more affordable at every stop.
"It's such a barrier for people if they have to pay that higher commuter rail fare it's anywhere from four dollars to five and six dollars difference to ride one direction per day and that adds up really quickly over time," Wu said.
Wu says now is the time people should attend both city and MBTA hearings and push for these changes.
While an MBTA spokesperson says fares have not been raised in two years but for the first time in ten, they did change some parking rates this past summer.
They increased one by $2 at the West Roxbury stop and decreased parking by $2 at Readville.
The MBTA says commuter rail performance rates are above 90% in the two lines through the area.
As for those who live in the Fairmount Hill neighborhood, they are trying to stay as patient as possible.
"They have to get to work and this commuter rail is so convenient and we are close to it that we can walk to it...so I'm trying to be a good neighbor," Mazzarella said.
