Alewife Linear Park

Coordinates: 42°23′53″N 71°8′4″W / 42.39806°N 71.13444°W / 42.39806; -71.13444

Alewife Linear Park in autumn

The Alewife Linear Park is a mixed-use path, about 1.3 miles (2.0 km) long, running through Cambridge and Somerville (Massachusetts), and connecting the Minuteman Bikeway and the Fitchburg Cutoff Path near Alewife with the Somerville Community Path at Davis Square. The path is used for bicycling, walking, jogging, and inline skating. The path runs though a long, narrow park that was built above the MBTA Red Line subway when it was extended from Davis Square to Alewife. It was established by the MBTA in 1985, and is maintained by the cities of Cambridge and Somerville.

The segment in Cambridge is also known as the Cambridge Linear Park. The Somerville segment is signed as the "Somerville Community Path: Alewife Linear Park Segment". Along with the Somerville Community Path segment from Davis Square to Lowell Street, combined distance is about 2.1 miles (3.4 km).

History

From Somerville nearly to Alewife, the park follows a right-of-way first established in 1870 and used by a succession of railroad companies. This route was used for passenger service on the Lexington Branch between 1870 and 1927,[1] and for freight operations on the Fitchburg Cutoff for several decades longer.

Improvements

The Massachusetts Highway Department designed an improved crossing of Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge[2] that was completed in 2011. Other path improvements were contemplated or underway, and "anticipated to be complete by the end of 2012."[3]

In April 2014, state officials announced that the Somerville Community Path will be extended alongside the Green Line Extension, creating a continuous route from the Minuteman Bikeway and Alewife Linear Park to Boston’s Charles River Bike Path.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Worden, John L. III (1991). Arlington's Little Local Railroad. The Arlington Historical Society.
  2. ↑ Gilsdorf, Ethan (June 29, 2008). "Popular bike trail gets even better". boston.com. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  3. ↑ "Belmont, Cambridge, and Somerville Path Improvements". Cambridge Community Development Dept. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  4. ↑ Conway, Abby Elizabeth (30 April 2014). "Somerville Bike Path To Extend To Boston". WBUR. Retrieved 3 May 2014.

External links

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