Paper

Designing and Building the Wellington Greenway: Project History and Future Plans

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Abstract

The Wellington Greenway is an emerging and nearly-completed 3.5 mile long multi-use trail, which connects beyond its ends to more than 50 miles of other existing and proposed future trails. The Wellington Greenway is an urban greenway; the path traverses six abutting properties located along the Mystic and Malden Rivers in the densely populated cities of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts. Work has been ongoing for over four decades, and while not measured in many miles, much progress has been made. The project is complicated in both technical and political spheres, as the Greenway passes through a mix of public and private properties, crosses major arterial roadways, active commuter rail lines and wetlands, as well as landscapes which vary from naturalistic parklands to urban mixed use developments. The Greenway is a also waterfront and as such it is subject to all of the intense environmental requirements and jurisdictional reviews of such developments. Finally, the entire project site area was originally a severe brownfield condition.

Keywords: greenways, design, build, wellington, mystic, river, malden, medford, massachusetts

How to Cite:

Shadley, J., FASLA, (2013) “Designing and Building the Wellington Greenway: Project History and Future Plans”, Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning 4(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/fabos.780