Parking crunch imminent for North Quincy commuters

QUINCY, Mass. — Starting next week, 600 parking spots will start to disappear for commuters trying to catch trains that roll into North Quincy.

"I'm not sure where these people are going to park," said Paul Mosher, an MBTA commuter. "It's gonna be a race to the parking lot every morning."

A long-planned project to build condos, retail shops and a parking garage starts February 17. That date was announced late last month, and it caught many off guard.

"Yeah, pretty poor planning overall at the detriment of the commuter who actually has to park here," said MBTA rider Ted DeBetteancourt.

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"That’s gonna add prob add another 40 minutes to our commute," added Debetteancourt's wife, Anita.

The couple say they had no idea about the project or the parking challenge ahead. They can take a bus, but that comes with other drawbacks.

"The buses aren’t that good, it takes a long time to get home and I still have to walk about 20 minutes," said Ted.

Every Red Line stop in Quincy and Braintree is under a $1.1 billion transformation – so parking is at a premium.

Parking is set to be disrupted at the Braintree and Quincy Adams stops while the Quincy Center garage and Wollaston Station are closed altogether.

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Wollaston will have 400 spaces ready, however, as North Quincy loses 600 spots. Now, commuters are wondering where to park.

"That's the $64,000 question," Mosher said. "If the city and state want people to take public transportation, they should provide the parking for them in order to do that."

Cox Media Group