Shift Towns · Massachusetts

Walking, biking & transit in Medford

See the routes Medford 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 Medford. New street projects, meetings worth your voice, and how Medford is moving — 1–2 emails a month.

Get involved in Medford

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

Happening nowThu, Oct 22 · 6:30 PM · virtual

Medford - Wellington Greenway construction (phase IV)

MassDOT is holding a public hearing on the design of the Wellington Greenway (phase IV) in Medford, giving neighbors a chance to weigh in on this walking and biking path project.

Attend the virtual hearing→

In Medford

Advocacy groups

  • WalkMedford — Medford's volunteer pedestrian-advocacy group, which has championed Safe Routes to School, the Clippership Connector riverside path, and safer crossings across the city.

Commuter perks & fare help

  • Lower Mystic TMA — Free commuter services — trip planning, incentives, and the GoMassCommute app — for employees, tenants, and residents of member properties in Everett, Medford, Malden, Chelsea, and Charlestown. (info@lowermystictma.com)

Meetings & comment pathways

  • Medford Traffic Commission — The city board that decides on parking rules, signs, and signals — residents can bring a petition to request changes on their own street. (aerickson@medfordpolice.com · 781-391-6409)

Your transportation department

  • Traffic & Transportation Division, City of Medford — The city's transportation team within the Engineering Department plans Medford's bike lanes, safer crossings, traffic calming, and Bluebikes — and Director Todd Blake takes resident requests for new safety improvements directly. (tblake@medford-ma.gov)
Regional & statewide groups, 8 more

Advocacy groups

  • Mystic River Watershed Associationregional — The watershed nonprofit building out the Mystic Greenways network of riverside walking and biking paths through Medford, with volunteer events and paddles all season long. (617-865-6580)
  • 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 Medford

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.

Somerville Community Path

Somerville Community Path

Starts 1.3 mi from central Medford · bike · 4 mi route · ~27 min · Somerville · Cambridge

A City of Squares

A City of Squares

Starts 1.8 mi from central Medford · walk + transit · 4 mi route · ~36 min · Somerville · Cambridge

Minuteman Bikeway

Minuteman Bikeway

Starts 1.9 mi from central Medford · bike · 6.4 mi route · ~42 min · Cambridge · Arlington · Bedford

All roams →
#4 of 10
Massachusetts towns by shift rate in October
152
active trips so far in October
256.4
active miles
228
lbs CO₂ avoided*
20
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 Medford— 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 Medford moves

New to Medford? You're joining a town that moves — neighbors logged 12,526 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 Medford residents wherever they go, including into neighboring towns, within about six miles of the town center.

Fewer neighborsMore neighbors

Momentum

Active trips in Medford by week ending, last 5 completed weeks, and climbing.

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. Medford is 2 points behind #1.

  1. 1Boston92%
  2. 2Somerville91%
  3. 3Cambridge91%
  4. 4Medford90%
  5. 5Malden82%
  6. 6Brookline77%
  7. 7Watertown73%
  8. 8Arlington60%
  9. 9Newton57%
  10. 10Newburyport24%

How Medford moves

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

Share of trips

59%
28%
10%

Share of miles

22%
41%
31%
Walking
90 trips · 55.8 mi
Biking & scooting
42 trips · 106 mi
Bus
5 trips · 15.1 mi
Train
15 trips · 79.6 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 Medford's totals on this page, earns you rewards at local businesses, and enters you into seasonal prize drawings.

Help Medford climb the board.

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

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Community stats reflect trips by Shift community members that start or end in Medford 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.