Shift Towns · Massachusetts
Walking, biking & transit in Brookline
See the routes Brookline 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 Brookline. New street projects, meetings worth your voice, and how Brookline is moving — 1–2 emails a month.
Get involved in Brookline
Safer streets are made by neighbors who speak up. Start small:
Brookline – Davis Path footbridge over MBTA
MassDOT is holding a public hearing on the design of a new footbridge over the MBTA tracks in Brookline, which could improve pedestrian access across the rail line.
Attend the virtual public hearing→- Open for feedbackBrookline Traffic Calming & Roadway Safety Program: Traffic Calming Online Request Form
- Open for feedbackBeacon Street Historic Bridle Path Reconstruction — community questionnaire (Brookline)
In Brookline
City committees you can join
- Bicycle Advisory Committee — A town committee that advises on bike safety, education, and access, meeting the first Monday of the month at 7 PM at Town Hall — open to all residents.
- Pedestrian Advisory Committee — A town committee that advises the Transportation Board on walking safety and sidewalk access, meeting the second Monday of the month at 7 PM via Zoom.
Advocacy groups
- Brookline for Everyone — A grassroots resident group working toward compact, walkable neighborhoods near transit through housing and zoning advocacy.
Your transportation department
- Engineering & Transportation Division (DPW) — The town office that plans and manages Brookline's streets, sidewalks, bike facilities, parking, and traffic-calming projects. (617-730-2177)
Regional & statewide groups, 7 more
Advocacy groups
- 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 Brookline
A few picks over the next 30 days — the full calendar has everything.
Roams to try
Guided routes — preview the full route here, then check in at each stop in the Shift app to earn the badge.
The B-Line Crawl
Starts 0.9 mi from central Brookline · transit · 0.9 mi route · ~90 min · Boston · Brookline
Museum Hop
Starts 1.3 mi from central Brookline · walk + transit · 3.6 mi route · ~180 min · Boston
Emerald Necklace Bike Route
Starts 1.5 mi from central Brookline · bike · 7.3 mi route · ~49 min · Boston · Brookline
- #6 of 10
- Massachusetts towns by shift rate in October
- 57
- active trips so far in October
- 101.6
- active miles
- 91
- lbs CO₂ avoided*
- 18
- 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 Brookline— 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 Brookline moves
New to Brookline? You're joining a town that moves — neighbors logged 14,185 trips on foot, by bike, and on transit in the last 90 days, and Massachusetts Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue and Somerville Community Path are where you'll find them. A corridor appears only once three or more different people have traveled it — and it follows Brookline residents wherever they go, including into neighboring towns, within about six miles of the town center.
- New to Shift: stretches of this route are mostly traveled by people who joined Shift in the last 90 days.
Momentum
Active trips in Brookline by week ending, last 5 completed weeks.
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. Brookline is 15 points behind #1.
How Brookline moves
Active trips and miles so far in October, by mode.
Share of trips
Share of miles
- Walking
- 28 trips · 26.1 mi
- Biking & scooting
- 4 trips · 10.8 mi
- Bus
- 7 trips · 28.9 mi
- Train
- 18 trips · 35.8 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 Brookline's totals on this page, earns you rewards at local businesses, and enters you into seasonal prize drawings.
Help Brookline climb the board.
Every walk, ride, and transit trip counts automatically. Download Shift free and put your trips on Brookline's board.
Community stats reflect trips by Shift community members that start or end in Brookline 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.