Shift Towns · Massachusetts
Walking, biking & transit in Watertown
See the routes Watertown 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 Watertown. New street projects, meetings worth your voice, and how Watertown is moving. One or two emails a month.
Get involved in Watertown
Safer streets are made by neighbors who speak up. Start small:
Watertown Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee Meeting (Watertown)
Watertown's Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee is meeting, giving residents a chance to raise walking and biking concerns directly with the group that advises the city on these issues.
Attend the meeting→- Mon, Nov 16 · 6:00 PM · virtualPublic Meeting | Bus Network Redesign Proposed Updates: Route 70 and Connecting Routes (Virtual)
- Open for feedbackWatertown Bluebikes bikeshare: suggest where the next station should go
- Report a street issueWatertown 311 / SeeClickFix→
- Sign up for project updatesMount Auburn Street Complete Streets Project→
In Watertown
Advocacy groups
- Watertown Faces Climate Change — A resident-led working group of Watertown Citizens that meets the first and third Sundays and championed the city's Climate and Energy Plan, including easier ways to walk, bike, and take transit. (WatertownFacesClimateChange@watertowncitizens.org)
Clubs & ride groups
- Girls in Gear — Runs bike programs and events in Watertown.
Commuter perks & fare help
- Watertown Transportation Management Association — A nonprofit partnership offering free commuter perks for people who live or work in Watertown — the WATConnector shuttle, bike roadside assistance, and seasonal commuting challenges.
Meetings & comment pathways
- Watertown Public Meetings Portal — The city's CivicClerk portal posts agendas, minutes, and remote-attendance links for the Traffic Commission, City Council, and every other board that shapes Watertown's streets.
Your transportation department
- Watertown Department of Public Works — The city department that maintains Watertown's streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic signals, and street lighting, and carries out major street improvement projects. (dpwdept@watertown-ma.gov · 617-972-6420)
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 Watertown
A few picks over the next 30 days — the full calendar has everything.
Flat Fixing
Tue, Nov 17 · BU Cycle Kitchen · 2.7 mi away
FreeBeginner-friendlyStudentsFree Bike Repair Workshop at BPL East Boston
Tue, Nov 17 · BPL East Boston (Boston Public Library East Boston Branch) · 7.4 mi away
FreeBeginner-friendlyFamily-friendlyTool Time: Bike Repair Open Shop
Thursdays · next Thu, Nov 19 · Bikes Not Bombs Hub · 4.9 mi away
FreeBeginner-friendlyFamily-friendlyGreat Oaks - a walking tour
Sun, Nov 8 · Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge, 02138, United States · 1.5 mi away
FreeRegistration req’dFamily-friendlyWeekly Multigroup Community Sunset Walk at Fresh Pond+optional dinner 3:15pm EST
Sundays · next Sun, Nov 8 · Aberdeen Ave & Huron Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138 · 1.5 mi away
FreeFamily-friendlyBeginner-friendlyDiscover Mount Auburn Walking Tour
Sat, Dec 5 · Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge, 02138, United States · 1.5 mi away
Registration req’dRoams to try
Self-guided routes. Preview the full route here, then check in at each stop in the Shift app to unlock the badge.
Starts 1.7 mi from central Watertown · Walk · 2.5 mi route · 50 min · Cambridge
Cambridge's 155-acre reservoir, fully looped, no street crossings.
Photo by Pascal Bernardon on UnsplashStarts 2.3 mi from central Watertown · Transit · 0.9 mi route · 1 hr 30 min · Boston · Brookline
Four consecutive B Line stops through the heart of Allston, each with a bar worth ducking into.
Photo: Karl AlexanderMystic River Greenway (Alewife to Medford)
Starts 2.5 mi from central Watertown · Bike · 6.7 mi route · 41 min · Arlington · Somerville · Medford
Two rivers, two T stations, and 300 years of history between them
Trails in and near Watertown
Paths of their own for walking and biking, with where to get on.
- #13 of 14
- Massachusetts towns by shift rate in November
- 9
- active trips so far in November
- 21.5
- active miles
- 19
- lbs CO₂ avoided*
- 5
- neighbors active so far in November
Shift Rate is the share of trips taken actively (walk, micromobility, transit). Counts cover November 1 through today, based on trips logged by Shift community members that start or end in Watertown — 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 Watertown moves
New to Watertown? You're joining a town that moves — neighbors logged 13,890 trips on foot, by bike, and on transit in the last 90 days, and Massachusetts Avenue, Somerville Community Path 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 Watertown residents wherever they go, including into neighboring towns, within about six miles of the town center.
Momentum
Active trips in Watertown by week ending, last 5 completed weeks, and climbing.
Friendly competition
Massachusetts towns by shift rate so far in November, the share of trips taken actively. Every town here has its own page: local stats, popular routes, events, and ways to get involved. Watertown is 60 points behind #1.
How Watertown moves
Trips and miles neighbors logged so far in November, by mode.
Share of trips
Share of miles
- Walking
- 2 trips · 0.7 mi
- Biking & scooting
- 5 trips · 9.2 mi
- Bus
- 2 trips · 11.5 mi
- Driving
- 17 trips · 110.8 mi
What is this?
Shift is a free app from Green Streets Initiative, a Somerville nonprofit since 2006, for finding better ways to get around. Every walk, bike ride and transit trip people take with Shift adds to Watertown's totals on this page. Shift counts trips on its own.
Help Watertown climb the board.
Every walk, ride, and transit trip counts automatically. Download Shift free and put your trips on Watertown's board.
Community stats reflect trips by Shift community members that start or end in Watertown 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.