The multitude of transit locations and opportunities in Back Bay's small area make it possibly the best served neighborhood in the city. Walking to MIT is an option, with campus a 10 to 30 minute walk from anywhere in the Back Bay. The best route to MIT is to walk to Massachusetts Avenue and across the Harvard Bridge. If you live on the eastern border of the Back Bay, you can walk through Beacon Hill and across the Longfellow Bridge to the eastern portion of campus. Parking on an everyday basis is difficult, if not impossible.
Back Bay requires a residential parking sticker for street parking.
However, even if you can qualify for a residential sticker, Boston's Traffic and Parking Department gives out almost four stickers to every one street parking space. Offstreet parking is limited and often costly in the area. If you live in Back Bay, you can easily leave your car at home. Back Bay's accessibility to public transit and walking distance to MIT may make a car unnecessary. As with the rest of Boston, Back Bay is part of the city and downtown.