Minuteman Bikeway

The Minuteman Commuter Bikeway in Lexington, with abandoned tracks from former use as a rail line

The Minuteman Bikeway is a 10-mile (16-kilometre)^[1] paved multi-use rail trail located in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts.

Route

Legend

In Bedford:

Railbanked line to Concord Reformatory

South Road

Bedford Depot Park

to Billerica

Elm Brook

Wiggins Avenue

in Lexington:

Hartwell Avenue

to Hanscom Air Force Base

Interstate 95

Bedford Street (Routes 4, 225)

Revere Street

Hancock Street

Lexington B&M Station

Woburn Street

Site of B&M's Munroe Station

Pierce's Bridge (Maple Street)

Arlington’s Great Meadows

Site of B&M's East Lexington Station

in Arlington:

Site of B&M's Arlington Heights Station

Park Avenue

Lowell Street

Site of B&M's Brattle Station

Site of B&M's Arlington Centre Station

Massachusetts Avenue (U.S. Route 3)

Spy Pond

Site of B&M's Lake Street Station

Lake Street

to Alewife Brook Greenway

Massachusetts Route 2

in Cambridge:

to Fitchburg Cutoff Path

to Alewife Linear Park

Alewife Station

The Minuteman Bikeway runs from Bedford to the Alewife station at the northern end of the Red Line in Cambridge. It passes through the towns of Lexington and Arlington on the way. Also along the route are several notable regional sites, including Alewife Brook Reservation, Spy Pond and "Arlington’s Great Meadows" (actually located in Lexington).

At its Cambridge terminus, the bikeway connects with four other bike paths:

the Fitchburg Cutoff Path
the Cambridge Linear Park which, in turn, leads to the Somerville Community Path.
the Alewife Brook Greenway, a connection to the Mystic River bike path, following Alewife Brook.^[2] The Alewife Brook extension received $4M from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as the "Minuteman Bikepath Connector" project.^[3]
a sidewalk path to Fresh Pond Reservation.

Plans are underway to extend the Somerville Community Path to downtown Boston, which would create a much larger continuous bikeway accessible from the Minuteman.

At the Bedford end, the Minuteman Bikeway connects with the Narrow Gauge Rail Trail and the Reformatory Branch Rail Trail.^[4]

History

Map from 1946, where Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M) passes along the route of today's Minuteman Bikeway

The path comprising the current Minuteman Bikeway has a long history. The trail closely approximates the route that Paul Revere took on his famous ride in 1775, which heralded the beginning of the American Revolution.

Along the way to becoming a railroad, the path's right-of-way was laid out east of Lexington in 1846 by the Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad and west of Lexington in 1873 by the Middlesex Central Railroad.

Railbanking of the line was first proposed in 1974, three years before passenger rail service was discontinued, and a full seven years before rail service was discontinued altogether (in 1981). In 1991, the final plan for the conversion was approved, and construction started on the original section of the bikeway. The path was dedicated in 1992 and completed the following year.^[5]

In 1998 the bikeway was extended from East Arlington to Alewife station (in Cambridge). In 2002 it was entirely repaved and in 2004 the Bedford Depot Park Enhancement Project was completed at its western terminus.^[5]

The property is currently owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and leased to the municipalities through which it passes on an interim basis. The MBTA at one point planned to use this right-of-way to extend the Red Line to Arlington Center and Arlington Heights.^[6]

Beginning in Spring 2015, the crossing of the path through Arlington Center is expected to be rebuilt to be less discontinuous.^[7]^[8]

Uses

Area residents use the bikeway for a host of activities, including bicycling, walking, jogging, and inline skating. The main use of the path, however, is for casual biking.^[5] In the winter there is often enough snow on the bikeway for cross-country skiing. However, the Bikeway is now plowed from Alewife Station to Bedford.^[9] No motorized vehicles are allowed except for powered wheelchairs and emergency vehicles.

Future possibilities

New connections under contemplation include one from Lexington to the Battle Road Trail and one to the Charles River bike path via Fresh Pond Reservation and the abandoned Watertown Branch Railroad. A portion of the latter path, at the Watertown end, has been completed.

In April 2014, state officials announced that the Somerville Community Path will be extended alongside the Green Line Extension, creating a continuous 4.5 mile route from the Minuteman Bikeway to Boston’s Charles River Bike Path.^[10]