Lost in Boston

Showing posts with label Bike Paths. Show all posts

Walk the [Red] Line
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Some of the most enjoyable, most accessible community paths in and around Boston have been constructed on or near rapid transit lines, as is the case with the Red Line Linear Park bike path.

Take the Red Line to Davis station in Somerville. Exit through the Holland Street headhouse, and you'll be right at the start of the short but enjoyable bike path.

Facing away from the road, you will see a brick paved path going toward the nearby residential neighborhood. This is the Red Line Linear Park, constructed with the subway extension from Harvard to Alewife in the 1980's. This path runs almost entirely above the Red Line tunnel, so you'll come across some emergency exits and ventilation grates here and there, which add to the interesting scenery.

Not too far into your walk, you'll come across the North Cambridge Carhouse, home of the small but popular trackless trolley fleet that covers routes in Cambridge, Watertown, and Waltham. (See image above, from Google Earth)

After crossing Massachusetts Avenue, continue on the path, soon veering to the left to weave through the Russell Field athletic area. Take a sharp right and you'll see the Alewife station complex directly in front of you!

At this point, you can re-enter the subway at Alewife (there are restrooms and a Dunnkin Donuts inside), or you can continue, on the brick path, under Route 2. Walk around the subway entrances and through the "busway", making your way onto the Alewife Station access road on the other side (see image to the left, also from Google Earth). Take a right, and you'll soon run into another bike path which crosses the Alewife Brook. This path will lead you back under Route 2 and on to the Minuteman Bikeway, one of the most poopular in this area, which travels through Arlington, Lexington and on to Bedford. Enjoy!