Pathway History

originally published in The Lowdown, October 2016 edition

The concept of a bike and footpath through Newton Lower Falls has been considered since a 1969 comprehensive Recreation and Open Space Plan by the Newton Planning Department led to a proposed Charles River Pathway. The Newton Conservation Commission was then authorized to implement the pathway and published their plan in 1975. The following objectives of this pathway were listed:

  1. To have a continuous footpath along the Charles River.

  2. To conserve the banks of the Charles in as natural a setting as possible.

  3. To add to outdoor recreational and educational opportunities available to the City.

“Within ten miles of Boston, there is a stretch of river scenery that cannot be surpassed in the United States.”
— Metropolitan Park Commission Report, 1892

This proposal is part of the Charles River Bike Path and the Blue Heron Trail in Newton. Both are segments of a larger system envisioned by the Metropolitan Park Commission in a report from 1892 by the landscape architect Charles Eliot, “consisting of the banks of the Charles, Neponset and Mystic Rivers, the Blue Hills, the Middlesex Fells, and Lynn, Nahant, Winthrop, Quincy, and Nantasket beaches.”

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) proposal for the section of the Blue Heron pathway through Lower Falls used the abandoned railroad line beginning at the bridge from Wellesley Hills through the woodland behind St Mary’s Street, across Pine Grove, continuing along the edge of the Leo J. Martin golf course parallel to Clearwater St, across Rt. 128/I95 and its access road using two bridges to Riverside.

LFIA Involvement

In 2009 there was a renewed interest in the Lower Falls pathway by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, which met opposition by abutters of the rail trail who filed a lawsuit against DCR. The controversy tore at the fabric of the Lower Falls community. In response the LFIA decided to not take any position for or against the trail, but rather to act as an educational resource for the community. The LFIA created a group to look at alternatives to the rail trail. The group defined 24 path segments that could be variably linked to get from the Wellesley Bridge to the LaSalle boathouse.

An engineering firm was commissioned by a local foundation to look at the costs of 3 of the more desirable routes (segments 5, 6, 13+7).

In 2010 the MBTA-initiated discussion over development of the Riverside T Station created a new incentive to look at alternative pathways. A simple link from Lower Falls to Riverside using segments 19 and 1 was promoted as safer pedestrian route to Riverside than negotiating the two new roundabouts. The segment could be linked to others to complete the pathway from Wellesley to LaSalle boathouse. This proposal drew the interest of the larger Newton community and our local legislators. Consequently, as part of the mitigation package offered by the developer, funds were set aside for projects like trails.

In 2016 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Courts ruled on the appeal from the Massachusetts Land Court by the plaintiffs, that the decommissioning of a trail line is a federal issue.

This finding has injected new life into discussions of the trail through Lower Falls becoming a reality. The following groups support this effort:

Documents and Events

2020

  • On September 22,  2020 the DCR conducted a feasibility study, Lower Falls Trail options.

  • On March 19, 2020, the LFIA held a virtual Trails Update meeting to let neighbors know about two DCR RFPs (Request for Proposals) and other trail developments associated with the Riverside Development and the Riverside Greenway in Auburndale. Download the RFPs for the Lower Falls Trails  and the Quinobequin Trail 100% Design studies.

2018 

  • On January 24, the Riverside Greenway Working Group presented an overview of their work at the Newton Main Library. 

    • View the slide show or a video of the event, with presentations by Emily Norton of the Charles River Watershed Association, Dan Driscoll of Mass DCR, Herb Nolan of the Solomon Foundation, and the Riverside Greenway Working Group. The Q&A was filmed by Ted Kuklinski of the Newton Conservators.

2017

  • At the April 9 LFIA Spring Meeting, the LFIA decided not to be a co-applicant to the DCR-Recreational Trails Program for a grant "Two Bridges Trail from Newton Lower Falls to Riverside."  LFIA withdraws Grant Application.  Grant was awarded to Bike Newton. (The LFIA was mistakenly included in announcement).

2016

  • A history of the Pathway was published in the Lower Falls Lowdown

2012–2013

  • The Accelerated Bridge Program for Massachusetts studied three Charles River pedestrian bridges in our area for rehabilitation and restoration. This program was established under Governor Deval Patrick 2007-2015, thanks to Mass DOT and DCR.

  • The Trestle Bridge was restored after persistent advocacy from DCR, Newton Conservators, League of Women Voters, the Newton Bike and Pedestrian Task Force, Bike Newton, Town of Wellesley, Lower Falls neighbors, and State Representative Kay Khan. Construction  began on 12/2010, with a ribbon cutting on the bridge in 2012.

  • The Pony Truss Bridge located in Riverside Park (the historic location of  Riverside Recreation Area, (referred to as “The Rec”) was rebuilt and opened in 2013.

2009

The LFIA Alternative Trails Group assessed trail segments as alternatives to the rail trail. Download the study