The Town of Arlington recently received a 2025 MassTrails Grant award in the amount of $93,992 to design improvements to the Minuteman Bikeway at Ed Burns Arena/ Ryder St. Along with a FY26 Capital funding appropriation of up to $100,000, this project will create a final design for trail improvements on approximately 1,100 linear feet of the Minuteman Bikeway from the playground access walk at Hill’s Hill to the eastern end of the Forest Street trail bridge. Potential improvements may include a “splitter island” for the Bikeway crossing at Ryder St, wayside pull-off areas with seating and bike racks, trail widening with new pedestrian rubber shoulders, a separated concrete walking trail to support mode split, and new native plantings and trees. Final project design is anticipated to be completed by late-summer 2026, after a public information session in the spring.

The project was one of 112 proposals requesting $16.4 million. This year, 50 projects received awards totaling $7.5 million in funding including a $100,000 grant to the Mystic River Watershed Association (MRWA) for the development of a plan to modernize the wayfinding signage system within the Alewife Brook and Mystic River Reservations in Arlington, Cambridge, Everett, Medford, and Somerville. The updated signage will be compliant with the 2022 MassTrails Bike Wayfinding Design Guide and will aid regional goals for connectivity and open space accessibility. For more information on the 2025 MassTrails grant recipients, visit mass.gov.