Pitts Stop: South Shore Commuters Shocked To Learn Kingston Park & Ride Closing Abruptly
KINGSTON (CBS) – It's a big bump in the road for commuters in Kingston and Duxbury. Plymouth & Brockton bus riders tell WBZ-TV they were shocked to find signs installed all around the Park and Ride at Kingsbury Plaza that said the lot would be closing October 1.
"You can't tell people two weeks before 'We're changing your entire commuting schedule,' and expect everything is going to run smoothly," says State Senator Vinny deMacedo.
The signs were put up after the private landowners of the lot, KeyPoint Partners in Burlington, announced plans to build a Starbucks in its place.
"For me to find another way to Boston would be very difficult it would be a hardship for me. There has to be a way to make this work for us, they have to think of the commuters," said Joanne Carleton, a Duxbury resident who's been using the Kingston Park and Ride for 22 years to get to her job in Boston.
"We're all kind of dismayed by it, it's going to change my life. You forget how convenient something like this is for a commuter," Tim McMahon told WBZ as he waited for the 7:55 a.m. bus to Boston.
MassDOT says the lot was not state owned, but instead an informal agreement between P&B and KeyPoint. Kingston's Town Administrator Tom Calter tells WBZ there has been no insurance coverage provided at the lot and no compensation to KeyPoint as part of the informal agreement.
Commuters say they were instructed to park at the Plymouth or Rockland lots instead, but they say neither option makes much sense.
"Going up to Rockland there isn't any place to park. You're not going to be able to add the 80-100 cars. Going back to Plymouth is the opposite direction so there has to be an alternative and were going to try and work that out," said deMacedo.
In the meantime, deMacedo and other officials have been able to convince KeyPoint to keep the lot open and service running until October 12 while they work out a solution. All parties are reportedly meeting Thursday October 4.
Calter and deMacedo told WBZ they feel confident they will be able to come to an agreement that will keep the Park and Ride open at Kingsbury Plaza, but are looking at other options in Kingston like the Kingston Collection at Exit 8.
