User:MrJARichard/East Boston Greenway

The East Boston Greenway is a shared use path and urban park that runs through the neighborhoods of Eagle Hill and Jeffries Point in East Boston, Massachusetts. The Greenway connects several open space areas, rapid transit stations and parks in East Boston, including Piers Park, Maverick Square, Maverick Station, Memorial Stadium, Memorial Park, Bremen Street Park, Airport Station, Wood Island Station and Wood Island Bay Marsh.

The Greenway is located along the path of a former Conrail line, and at points, parallels the tracks of the former Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad, now the MBTA's Blue Line.

The Greenway was officially opened in 2007, and runs from Boston Harbor in Jeffries Point to Wood Island Bay Marsh in Lower Orient Heights. Two pending sections are under construction by MassPort and the City of Boston, and will extend the greenway to Constitution Beach, and later to Belle Isle Marsh, terminating on the Boston-Revere city border. When completed, the greenway is expected to be 3.3 miles in length, and will span East Boston from Boston Harbor to Revere

History
The former Conrail line, where the East Boston Greenway lies upon, was originally built for industrial usage by the Grand Junction Railroad and Depot Company. After Conrail abandoned the tracks, the area became a dumping ground. The area was first cleaned up by residents in 1978. Around this time, there was talk about converting the land into a bike trail, although it took the donation of over a mile of land by Conrail in 1997 to advance this idea. The entire community was not necessarily supportive of the idea at first, as the local chamber of commerce wanted to use the route as a truck route to Logan International Airport. This idea gained little support, and construction of the East Boston Greenway began in 1999. In 2007, the Greenway opened.

Greenway Connector Opens
In the summer of 2014, MassPort completed the first section of the East Boston Greenway Connector, a continuation of the shared use path that extended the greenway past Bremen Street Park to Wood Island Bay Marsh, three-quarter miles away. The ribbon cutting ceremony took place on August 21st.

The next section, which will extend the greenway further, to Constitution Beach, is to be completed by the City of Boston, and is currently a high priority project.

Points of interest


The Greenway passes through Bremen Street Park, where there is an entrance to the Blue Line Airport Station. Free shuttle buses connect the station to the airport terminals. A branch off of the Greenway leads to the East Boston Memorial Stadium and to the Logan Airport Rental Car Center, where there is also bicycle parking. Off of Bremen Street, the East Boston YMCA is located at the former engine house for the line, and was constructed in 1909.