Editing Transportation in Boston (section)

===Parking===
Since automobiles did not exist in 1630, when Boston was first settled, parking was not a consideration.  The city that sprung up around and away from the original North End neighborhood accommodates cars only awkwardly; parking comes at a premium throughout the city.  Off-street parking spaces have sold for more than $160,000 on Beacon Hill.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/realestate/communities/profiles/2002/boston_beacon_hill.html|title=Boston.com / Real estate|work=boston.com}}</ref>  On-street parking is the norm in many sections, and the city created a resident permit parking program to reserve street space for permanent residents in certain neighborhoods.  The parking permits are free to Boston residents, however, and the program is overused; permitted spaces remain scarce.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/08/22/is_parking_too_cheap/|title=Is parking too cheap?|work=boston.com}}</ref>  Meters citywide are priced at $1.25 per hour, and metered spaces are also often difficult to find.

The number of public parking spaces downtown has been capped since the mid-1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofboston.gov/environment/sbf.asp|title=Parking Freezes - City of Boston|work=cityofboston.gov|access-date=August 31, 2007|archive-date=September 13, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913182407/http://www.cityofboston.gov/environment/sbf.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>  The number of parking spaces in East and South Boston, and the hours that they may be used, also is restricted by state regulation.  This is part of the state Department of Environmental Protection's plan, approved by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] to address the non-compliance of the region with the mandatory [[National Ambient Air Quality Standards]] for [[ozone]].<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/region1/topics/air/sips/sips_ma.html EPA-Approved MA Regulations | State Implementation Plans (SIPs) | Topics | New England | US EPA<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The MBTA operates several large [[park and ride]] facilities on its subway and commuter rail lines, close to major highways, providing access to downtown. While most of these tend to fill up with commuters on weekday mornings, they provide a good place for visitors to leave their cars and see the city without parking hassles on evenings and weekends.