Shift Towns · Massachusetts

Walking, biking & transit in Arlington

See the routes Arlington neighbors actually walk, ride and take transit on, what's happening locally, and how the town is trending — built from real trips logged in the Shift app.

Keep a pulse on Arlington. New street projects, meetings worth your voice, and how Arlington is moving — 1–2 emails a month.

Get involved in Arlington

Safer streets are made by neighbors who speak up. Start small:

In Arlington

Advocacy groups

  • Sustainable Arlington — A resident-led Envision Arlington committee and Mass Climate Action Network chapter working toward the town's climate and sustainable-transportation goals — new volunteers welcome.

Meetings & comment pathways

  • Arlington Public Meeting Portal — Browse agendas and upcoming meetings for every town board and commission — the place to catch street and transit projects while there is still time to comment.

Your transportation department

Regional & statewide groups, 8 more

Advocacy groups

  • Mystic River Watershed Associationregional — Headquartered right in Arlington, this watershed group is building the Mystic Greenways network of walking and biking paths and welcomes volunteers for events and work days.
  • LivableStreets Allianceregional — The Metro Boston advocacy group for people-centered streets and transit, whose research and comment letters cover projects across the region.
  • TransitMattersstatewide — The transit advocacy group pushing for faster, more reliable buses and trains across Greater Boston, with data-driven campaigns anyone can join.
  • Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA)statewide — A statewide coalition of community groups advocating for safe, affordable, and reliable transportation choices in every corner of the state.
  • WalkMassachusettsstatewide — The statewide walking advocacy organization that leads walk audits and pedestrian-safety campaigns, with open network meetings on Zoom the third Wednesday of each month.
  • MassBikestatewide — The statewide bicycling coalition — a way to plug into bike advocacy, group rides, and Bike Month events across Greater Boston and beyond.

Commuter perks & fare help

  • MBTA reduced faresstatewide — Reduced-fare programs for seniors, riders with disabilities, people aged 18–25 on low incomes, and middle and high school students. Most cut the fare roughly in half.

Get updates

  • MBTA accessibility alertsstatewide — Live notices when an elevator or escalator is out of service, plus how to arrange a shuttle when one is. Worth subscribing to if a lift is part of how you get to the platform.

Events near Arlington

A few picks over the next 30 days — the full calendar has everything.

All community events →

Roams to try

Guided routes — preview the full route here, then check in at each stop in the Shift app to earn the badge.

Mystic River Greenway (Alewife to Medford)

Mystic River Greenway (Alewife to Medford)

Starts 1.4 mi from central Arlington · bike · 6.7 mi route · ~41 min · Arlington · Somerville · Medford

Two rivers, two T stations, and 300 years of history between them

Minuteman Bikeway

Minuteman Bikeway

Starts 1.6 mi from central Arlington · bike · 6.4 mi route · ~42 min · Cambridge · Arlington · Bedford

Fresh Pond Loop

Fresh Pond Loop

Starts 2.4 mi from central Arlington · walk · 2.5 mi route · ~50 min · Cambridge

All roams →
#8 of 8
Massachusetts towns by shift rate in October
30
active trips so far in October
75
active miles
67
lbs CO₂ avoided*
8
neighbors active so far in October

Shift Rate is the share of trips taken actively (walk, micromobility, transit). Counts cover October 1 through today, based on trips logged by Shift community members that start or end in Arlington— a growing sample, meant as an interesting local signal, not an official or census-level count. *CO₂ avoided is estimated from active miles traveled (EPA 404 g/mi baseline).

Where Arlington moves

New to Arlington? You're joining a town that moves — neighbors logged 9,438 trips on foot, by bike, and on transit in the last 90 days, and Somerville Community Path, Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue are where you'll find them. A corridor appears only once three or more different people have traveled it — and it follows Arlington residents wherever they go, including into neighboring towns, within about six miles of the town center.

  13. New to Shift: stretches of this route are mostly traveled by people who joined Shift in the last 90 days.
Fewer neighborsMore neighbors

Momentum

Active trips in Arlington by week ending, last 5 completed weeks.

Sep 6Sep 13Sep 20Sep 27Oct 4

Friendly competition

Massachusetts towns by shift rate so far in October, the share of trips taken actively. Every town here has its own page: local stats, popular routes, events, and ways to get involved. Arlington is 32 points behind #1.

  1. 1Somerville91%
  2. 2Boston91%
  3. 3Cambridge90%
  4. 4Medford89%
  5. 5Malden79%
  6. 6Brookline77%
  7. 7Watertown63%
  8. 8Arlington59%

How Arlington moves

Active trips and miles so far in October, by mode.

Share of trips

50%
20%
20%
10%

Share of miles

17%
30%
29%
23%
Walking
15 trips · 12.7 mi
Biking & scooting
6 trips · 22.8 mi
Bus
6 trips · 22 mi
Train
3 trips · 17.5 mi

What is this?

Shift is a free app from Green Streets Initiative, a nonprofit that has celebrated walking, biking, and transit since 2006. Shift automatically counts your walks, rides, and transit trips — every trip adds to Arlington's totals on this page, earns you rewards at local businesses, and enters you into seasonal prize drawings.

Help Arlington climb the board.

Every walk, ride, and transit trip counts automatically. Download Shift free and put your trips on Arlington's board.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Community stats reflect trips by Shift community members that start or end in Arlington and refresh hourly. Municipalities and community groups can request aggregate data at info@gogreenstreets.org. A project of Green Streets Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.