Is the area around the Route 128 station walkable?

[NEPATrainTraveler]

Hello,

I’m thinking of taking a trip to Boston and I see that there’s a hotel near the Route 128 station that has a good price. Is the area pedestrian friendly? Would it be safe to walk from the station to the hotel? I don’t drive.

Thanks in advance

 

[cocojacoby]

That entire area has been recently rebuilt. Not sure where the hotel is located but if it's within walking distance then go for it. It is a safe very walk-able area. There are several restaurants too, and try the Wegman's supermarket. It's a great food store with an even greater eat-in food market.

 

[John Santos]

There is nothing really to see or do near 128 station without a car unless you are working at one of the many business offices near by. It is an area of mostly office buildings near a major highway interchange. (It's a convenient location for people taking Amtrak and commuter rail from the south suburbs of Boston.)
The one thing that is there is very frequent commuter rail and Amtrak service to downtown Boston. A recent post mentioned there is a good, relatively inexpensive hotel a five minute walk from the station. (It must be just across the parking lot.)
It is a totally safe area.

If you are coming as a tourist, I think it would be much more convenient to be in downtown Boston, within walking distance of very many historic sites, museums, restaurants, the aquarium, subways, trolleys and buses to all over the city, ferries and scenic boat trips around or across the harbor or all the way to Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod. You can get to all those things from Rt 128, but first you need to take a train into the city. (Maybe, if the hotels are enough cheaper, it would be worth the extra time, about 15 minutes, and cost to stay there and take the train in. But beware the last train to 128 is about 11PM on weekends, be sure to check the schedules!

 

[John Santos]

The schedule is really sparse on weekends, especially Sundays. But the T schedule doesn't include the Amtrak trains, which run every hour or hour and a half from about 6AM to midnight even on Sundays. The Amtrak web site won't let you book a train ticket from Rt 128 to Boston, but I'm pretty sure you can buy a ticket at the station, especially on Sundays when there are 14 Amtrak trains and only 6 MBTA trains.

 

[NEPATrainTraveler]

There is nothing really to see or do near 128 station without a car unless you are working at one of the many business offices near by. It is an area of mostly office buildings near a major highway interchange. (It's a convenient location for people taking Amtrak and commuter rail from the south suburbs of Boston.)
The one thing that is there is very frequent commuter rail and Amtrak service to downtown Boston. A recent post mentioned there is a good, relatively inexpensive hotel a five minute walk from the station. (It must be just across the parking lot.)
It is a totally safe area.

If you are coming as a tourist, I think it would be much more convenient to be in downtown Boston, within walking distance of very many historic sites, museums, restaurants, the aquarium, subways, trolleys and buses to all over the city, ferries and scenic boat trips around or across the harbor or all the way to Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod. You can get to all those things from Rt 128, but first you need to take a train into the city. (Maybe, if the hotels are enough cheaper, it would be worth the extra time, about 15 minutes, and cost to stay there and take the train in. But beware the last train to 128 is about 11PM on weekends, be sure to check the schedules!

Usually I would stay in Downtown in any city, but when I went to Hotels.com to look for hotels on the dates I wanted, the lowest I could find was $400 a night. Not sure if this is normal for Boston or if maybe an event is going on? That's why I started looking at Route 128. I heard about the new hotel there from a post in this forum. I've also looked into hotels near PVD, prices are better than Boston, but the ride into Boston is longer. I plan on visiting Provincetown as well, but I plan on getting a hotel in P-town for that portion of the trip.

 

[drdumont]

You can always take a look at the area with Google Earth. When I worked in Newton, the
RT.128 station was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, just a commuter parking lot. Of course that was 30 years ago...

 

[FastTrains]

Much different area than it was 30 years ago or even a decade ago. The Courtyard Hotel is brand new and RIGHT next to the station. It gets very good reviews and once it's discovered by the masses the prices will be much higher. The area is very safe and very walkable. Commuter rail is more than adequate , even on the weekends, just check the schedule and plan your trip into town and back. https://www.mbta.com/schedules/CR-Providence/timetable University Station is a new shopping, dining and luxury housing area less than a 10 walk from the Amtrak Station. https://www.shopuniversitystation.com/ Enjoy your visit!!

 

[jis]

The schedule is really sparse on weekends, especially Sundays. But the T schedule doesn't include the Amtrak trains, which run every hour or hour and a half from about 6AM to midnight even on Sundays. The Amtrak web site won't let you book a train ticket from Rt 128 to Boston, but I'm pretty sure you can buy a ticket at the station, especially on Sundays when there are 14 Amtrak trains and only 6 MBTA trains.

All northbound Amtrak trains are discharge only at RTE, so I’d be very surprised if anyone will sell you a ticket northbound on Amtrak from RTE.