Alewife Station, located at the intersection of
Alewife Brook ParkwayAlewife Brook Parkway is a short parkway in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
and Cambridgepark West in
Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, a nexus of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Notably, Cambridge is home to two internationally prominent...
, is a local
intermodalIntermodal passenger transport involves more than one mode of transport of passengers. Some modes of transportation have always been intermodal; for example, most major airports have extensive facilities for automobile parking and have good rail or bus connections to the cities nearby. Urban bus...
transportation hub. It is the northern terminus of the
MBTAThe Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is "a body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
's
Red LineThe Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. From the northwest, the line begins in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...
, and a bus terminal for several local routes. It opened on March 30, 1985. Its facilities include:
- A 2733-space multi-level "park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and others wishing to travel into city centres to leave their personal vehicles in a car park and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
" garage, with a direct connection to Route 2 at Exit 61
- Bicycle parking for more than 174 bicycles.
Alewife Station, located at the intersection of
Alewife Brook ParkwayAlewife Brook Parkway is a short parkway in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
and Cambridgepark West in
Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, a nexus of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Notably, Cambridge is home to two internationally prominent...
, is a local
intermodalIntermodal passenger transport involves more than one mode of transport of passengers. Some modes of transportation have always been intermodal; for example, most major airports have extensive facilities for automobile parking and have good rail or bus connections to the cities nearby. Urban bus...
transportation hub. It is the northern terminus of the
MBTAThe Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is "a body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
's
Red LineThe Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. From the northwest, the line begins in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...
, and a bus terminal for several local routes. It opened on March 30, 1985. Its facilities include:
- A 2733-space multi-level "park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and others wishing to travel into city centres to leave their personal vehicles in a car park and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
" garage, with a direct connection to Route 2 at Exit 61
- Bicycle parking for more than 174 bicycles. A gated bike parking area was added in 2008.
- a Zipcar
Zipcar is a for-profit, membership-based carsharing company providing automobile rental to its members, billable by the hour or day. Zipcar was founded in 2000 by Cambridge, Massachusetts residents Robin Chase and Antje Danielson. On October 31, 2007 Zipcar merged with rival Flexcar...
location in the employee parking area
- Connections to the Minuteman Bikeway
The Minuteman Bikeway is a 10 mile paved multi-use rail trail located in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts.-Route:|}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...
, the Cambridge Linear ParkThe Linear Park is a mixed-use path, about one mile long, running through Cambridge and Somerville , 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...
and the Fitchburg Cutoff PathThe Fitchburg Cutoff Path is a short, unpaved multi-use rail trail located in suburban Boston, Massachusetts.The 0.8 mile path runs from Brighton Street in Belmont, Massachusetts to the Alewife station at the northern end of the MBTA Red Line in Cambridge...
- Pedestrian access to East Arlington
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,389 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, via the Minuteman Bikeway and Thorndike Street in Arlington
- A retail area with food and services such as dry cleaning
- Several works of public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that has been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
commissioned for the station, including carved benches in the passenger pickup area.
Terminating bus routes
- 62 Bedford V.A. Hospital
The Veterans Health Administration is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs that implements the medical assistance program of the VA through the administration and operation of numerous VA outpatient clinics, hospitals, medical centers and longterm healthcare...
via LexingtonLexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,355 at the 2000 census.The town is famous for being the site of the opening shots of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775....
Center and Arlington Heights
- 67 Turkey Hill via Arlington
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,389 at the 2000 census.-History:...
Center
- 76 Hanscom
Hanscom Field , also known by its full name Laurence G. Hanscom Field, is a public airport located in Bedford, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority....
/Lincoln Lab via LexingtonLexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,355 at the 2000 census.The town is famous for being the site of the opening shots of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775....
Center
- 83 Central Square Cambridge
Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered around the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street and Western Avenue. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street and Main Street, is also considered a part of the Central...
via Inman SquareInman Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It lies north of Central Square, at the junction of Cambridge, Hampshire, and Inman Streets near the Cambridge–Somerville border.-Location:...
(terminates nearby at Russell Field)
- 84 Arlmont Village
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,389 at the 2000 census.-History:...
- 350 North Burlington
- 351 Oak Park/Bedford Woods
- The Route 128 Business Council provides daily shuttle bus services from Alewife traveling to many companies along the Route 2 and Route 128 corridor.
Attractions
- Alewife Brook Reservation
Alewife Brook Reservation is a Massachusetts state park located in Cambridge, Arlington, and Somerville. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.-Description:...
, a wetlands conservation area with walking trails, adjacent to the station on the north side. The station is named after the fishThe alewife is a species of herring. There are anadromous and landlocked forms. The landlocked form is also called a sawbelly or mooneye...
in the reservation's Little River.
- Fresh Pond reservation
Fresh Pond is a reservoir and park in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to the Pond's use exclusively as a reservoir, its ice had been harvested by Boston's "Ice King", Frederic Tudor, and others, for shipment to North American cities and to tropical areas around the world.Fresh Pond Reservation...
- Fresh Pond Shopping Center and cinema
- The Rindge Avenue Extension office park
- Russell Field and Danehy Park
- The Minuteman Trail
History
Boston transportation planners expected to build an
Inner BeltThe Inner Belt in Boston was a planned six-lane, limited-access highway which would have run through parts of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville.-History:...
within the Route 128 corridor in the 1970s. MA Route 2 was designed with eight lanes to carry large volumes of radial traffic to the Inner Belt. When the Inner Belt was canceled, Route 2 became an overbuilt highway that terminated at what was little more than major city streets. When the westward extension of the
Red LineThe Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. From the northwest, the line begins in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...
was being designed, building a station near the end of Route 2 with a large parking garage seemed like a way to capitalize on the original Route 2 investment.
There was little near the site of the Alewife station besides a largely abandoned industrial park, a chemical factory and a protected wetlands. Following principles that came to be known as
transit-oriented developmentA transit-oriented development is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership...
, the City of Cambridge zoned the area immediately near the station for high rise buildings. Over the next 20 years, a mini-city developed with office and
research and developmentThe phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
buildings, along with high rise housing.
A state law required planning the Red Line Extension so it could later be brought out to Route 128 to Bedford, along the route of the former
Lexington and West Cambridge RailroadMileage from Boston|}The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was a railroad company chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846, that operated in eastern Massachusetts...
. The Red line tracks extend past the station, under Route 2, and terminate in a small underground storage yard. When the adjacent chemical plant eventually closed and was replaced by an office and hotel development, the rail spur to the plant was no longer needed and its underpass was converted to an access ramp from the station to Route 2.
The station is named after Alewife Brook, a nearby tributary of the
Mystic RiverThe Mystic River is the name of a short river in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Its name derives from the Wampanoag word "muhs-uhtuq", which translates to "big river". It lies to the north of and flows approximately parallel to the lower portions of the Charles River.Mystic...
. The
AlewifeThe alewife is a species of herring. There are anadromous and landlocked forms. The landlocked form is also called a sawbelly or mooneye...
is a species of fish which inhabits the Mystic River system.
Bike parking expansion
On September 18, 2008 two bike parking cages opened at the Alewife station. The cages can hold up to 150 bikes each. To use these cages, one must obtain a free plastic
Bike CharlieCard, similar to the
CharlieCardThe CharlieCard is a MIFARE-based, contactless, stored value smart card used for electronic ticketing as part of the Automated Fare Collection system installed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority at its stations and on its vehicles...
used to board the trains. Cards can be obtained from the MBTA customer service agents at Alewife station, or at the MBTA customer service center at
Downtown CrossingDowntown Crossing Station of the MBTA, located at the corner of Washington Street and Summer Street and the corner of Chauncey Street and Summer Street in Boston, is the main transfer point between the Orange Line and the Red Line....
station. Though the cages are covered, enclosed with security fences, and watched by security cameras, the
MBTAThe Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is "a body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
advises riders to lock their bikes.
Parking Garage Expansion
As of April 2008, the MBTA has said that they do not have funds to add two levels to the parking garage to add capacity, which would cost $30 million to $35 million and add about 1300 spaces; the structure was originally designed to be able to have two more levels added, but whether the condition of the structure and building codes would allow that today is not clear.
External links