Association for Biology Laboratory Education

ABLE 2015 Travel

By Air
Fly in to Logan Airport. Public Transportation directly from the airport is available straight to campus (see below). Alternatively, a 20-minute taxi ride will cost approximately $25. If you are staying at Student Village, on campus housing, the address is 10 Buick Street.

By Transit
Traveling by MBTA public transit: The public transit system in Boston is the MBTA, which services Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and many of the suburbs via bus, subway train, and commuter rail. Boston University is on the B-line part of the Green Line. From the airport, any terminal: Follow the signs that have a T symbol and signs for the Silver Line to South Station. This trip is free. Do not take a bus to the Blue Line Airport T station. That involves more transfers and a one-way payment of $2.65. Transfer to the Red Line. Follow signs that say destination Alewife. Take the Red Line to Park Street Station, where it intersects with the Green Line. Transfer to an outbound Green Line B train destination Boston College. The closest stop to the science building (registration desk) is Blandford, the first above ground stop after Kenmore Station. Cross the train tracks, cross Commonwealth Avenue, and walk towards a large, red brick building with a metal sculpture in the front courtyard. This is the Metcalf Science Center (590 Commonwealth Avenue), which will house the majority of the conference.

If you need to go directly to on campus housing, you can check into your room there, stay on the Green Line B train past Blandford to St. Paul Street. Cross Commonwealth Avenue and you will be in front of our fitness center. Walk downhill on Commonwealth Avenue, east, and turn left onto Buick Street, the first intersection. The entrance to the dorms will be on your left.

If you are staying at the Holiday Inn in Brookline, at Park St., get on the Green Line C train destination Cleveland Circle. Get off the train at Kent St. Cross Beacon St. and walk uphill, west, on the hotel is on your right.

Public Transportation During the Conference
You will be using public transportation for most of the excursions, but you may also wish to use public transportation back and forth from the dorms and the science buildings. One-way trips cost $2.65 using a Charlie Ticket and can be purchased at any underground T station, or above ground on the green lines (cash only). At any underground T station, you can purchase a LinkPass for $12 for 1 day or $19 for 7 days, valid on all subway and bus lines. At several underground T stations (South Station if you are taking the Silver Line from the airport; Kenmore Station if you are on BU’s campus), you can pick up a Charlie Card and pay $2.10 per ride. At any underground station, you can pay with cash, debit or credit cards and receipts are issued.

For any services using the MBTA if you are unsure, there is a trip planner on the MBTA website that will tell you exactly what lines to take and where to get on/off and where to transfer. The link to this is: www.mbta.com/rider_tools/trip_planner.

A campus map with the conference buildings marked is available here.

Other Bus or Train
Both North Station and South Station receive Amtrak trains daily and can then travel using taxi cabs or MBTA services. South Station also has Greyhound and other bus services.

By Car

From Logan Airport:
Take Route 1A Boston to Sumner Tunnel, then proceed to Storrow Drive. Follow Storrow Drive West to the Kenmore Square exit. Follow local directions below.

From the North:
Take Route 1 or I-93 South to Boston. After the bridge, take the Storrow Drive/Cambridge exit. Follow Storrow Drive approximately 2 miles to the Kenmore Square exit. Follow local directions below.

From the Southeast:
Take I-95 or Route 3 North to I-93 North into Boston. Take exit 26 onto Storrow Drive and follow 2 miles to the Kenmore Square exit. Follow local directions below.

From the South:
Washington, DC or NYC, take I-95 N to New Haven, CT. Then take I-91 N to Hartford, where you will get I-84 East. Follow this to I-90 East, the Massachusetts Turnpike. Follow the directions from the West below.

From the West:
Take the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) East to Exit 18, Brighton/Cambridge. Follow the right side of the ramp towards Cambridge. At the bottom of the ramp there will be several traffic lights. Turn right at the hotel onto Storrow Drive. Exit Storrow Drive at the Kenmore Square exit. Follow local directions below.

Local Directions: From the Kenmore Square exit off Storrow Drive, follow ramp to traffic lights. Turn right onto Beacon Street. At this point, the road will fork. Follow the left side of fork for all Bay State Road destinations. Otherwise, follow the left side of fork into Kenmore Square and at the second traffic light, bear right for all Commonwealth Avenue destinations.

To park for the science building, find street parking on the right side of the street and walk across the street, or travel three more blocks down and find a spot the make a U-turn, travel on Commonwealth Ave back towards Kenmore Square, and find street parking on the same side of the building. There are also several University owned parking lots, with rates around $10 per day. Full details about parking are at www.bu.edu/parking.

Parking:
If you need parking for the duration of the conference, select Pre-Paid Guest Passes on registration. It’s $16 per day and overnight to park at 808 Commonwealth Lot (Lot F), which is located almost midway between Stuvi 2 and the science buildings. If you are not staying in the dorms, select Daily Parking on registration for $8 per day. The lot is TBD depending on the need.

If you do not want to pre-pay, but need parking, you can park in lots. It’s $24 per day and overnight to park at 808 Commonwealth Lot (Lot F), but this is CASH ONLY. Daily parking is $12 per day at the Granby lot at 665 Commonwealth or Kenmore lot at 549 Commonwealth, and you can pay with cash or credit card. These lots are close to the science buildings, far from the dorms, and are open Monday-Friday from 7 am until 9 pm and Saturdays 8am-3pm.

There are also a limited number of metered parking spots throughout campus. They have varying restrictions and time limits: Meters on Bay State Road have 2- or 4-hour limits. Be careful to check. The city of Boston’s parking meters are between the hours of 8 am until 8 pm. After hours are free. Quarters only: 1 quarter/12 min = 5 quarters/hour = $1.25/hour. Prepare by bringing an appropriate amount of quarters.

Note that Red Sox home games (during the conference: Tuesday and Wednesday evening— and Thursday afternoon), on campus parking will be limited and more expensive. Pre-paid Guest Passes are advised if you need to park during these days.