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Bikeway News
Minuteman Bikeway named to Rail-Trail Hall of Fame
June 2008: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has inducted the Minuteman Bikeway into the national Rail-Trail Hall of Fame.
New banners installed in Arlington
New banners were installed above the bikeway entrances in Arlington Center (May 2008).
Arlington to plow bikeway in winter of 2007-08
November 2007: The Arlington Board of Selectmen have approved a trial snow-plowing program on the 3-mile section of the Minuteman Bikeway in Arlington for the 2007–2008 winter season. The goal of this program is to encourage year-round use of the bikeway for transportation and recreational users. If the trial program is successful, the Town of Arlington might consider plowing the bikeway on a permanent basis. For details on this trial program, see www.clearthetrail.org.
Bicycling skills courses
MassBike offers local bicycling skills classes. Click here for more information on these classes.
Bedford Depot Park construction completed
The new Bedford Depot Park enhances the Bedford terminus of the Minuteman Bikeway with facilities for pedestrians and cyclists in a surrounding that recalls the railroad history of the corridor. The park features improved landscaping, public sanitary facilities, period-style benches and lighting, and increased public parking. In addition, the 1870s-vintage Railroad Depot and Freight House structures have been purchased for historic preservation. Their exteriors will be renovated to better resemble original appearances. A retired Boston & Maine Railroad passenger car, of a type that once served the former commuter rail line, has been brought on site for restoration.
The Town of Bedford is carrying out the project with $1.35 million in funding from the federal and state governments' Transportation Enhancement Program.
Minuteman Bikeway tour held for Rails-to-Trails conference participants
June 28, 2003: The communities of Bedford, Lexington, and Arlington hosted a bicycle-tour workshop on the Minuteman Bikeway for participants of Rails-to-Trails' national conference. Click for more details and photos of this event.
Alewife Brook-area path improvements proposed
The MDC is proposing series of multi-use bicycle and pedestrian paths as part of its Alewife Brook Reservation "master plan" project. These community trails could connect the Mystic River paths to the Minuteman Bikeway and Alewife MBTA Station and could serve as important alternative transportation connections in our regional trail system. (View an aerial map of the Alewife Connector path, connecting to the Minuteman Bikeway.) For more information or to get involved, see www.pathfriends.org/alewife.
Arlington bikeway stretch repaved
Summer 2002: The Town of Arlington has repaved its entire stretch of bikeway. For more information, see the town's press release. The bikeway in Arlington is now better than new!
Support for Mass Central Rail-Trail growing
Local support for the Mass Central Rail-Trail has been revived and is growing fast. This bike path would travel 104 miles – from Boston all the way to Northampton at the foot of the Berkshires. Speaking at the recent Golden Spike Rail-Trail Conference on June 21 at Bentley College, MassHighway Commissioner John Cogliano said, "The more bike projects we build, the more we realize how much they are needed."
The Mass Central Rail-Trail would connect to the Minuteman Bikeway at Alewife Station in Cambridge.
New "Bikeway Happenings" webpage
A new webpage on this site features current bikeway happenings such as wizard artwork, the beaver dam in Lexington, and historical markers in Arlington.
Updated bikeway brochure now available
An updated and newly designed brochure on the Minuteman Bikeway is now available.
The new brochure is a companion to this website and contains much of the same information, plus a large-scale printed map of the bikeway region. (This map is too large to reproduce effectively on this website.) The brochure, when fully opened up, is poster-sized: 17 inches wide by 21 inches deep.
The new brochures are available in local libraries, town halls and civic centers, bike shops, and Cambridge Savings Bank offices near the bikeway.
Thanks to our major community sponsor, Cambridge Savings Bank, for funding the printing of 20,000 copies of the new Minuteman Bikeway brochure.
New brochure and website dedicated to bikeway's "founding fathers"
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Alan McClennen, Jr., and Tom Fortmann at the Minuteman Bikeway opening ceremony, Lexington Center, 1993. |
Twenty years in planning, the Minuteman Bikeway might still be a dream if not for the tireless efforts of two community advocates: Tom Fortmann of Lexington and Alan McClennen, Jr., of Arlington.
Tom and Alan, we thank you for making your dreams of a bikeway come true. On the 10th anniversary of the Minuteman Bikeway's completion, we gratefully dedicate this website (and the companion brochure) to you.
We also applaud the efforts of Cathy Buckley Lewis at Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) for her efforts in the design and construction of the Minuteman Bikeway.