Alewife Linear Park
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The Alewife Linear Park is a mixed-use path, about two miles (3.2 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".
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]
