Minuteman Bikeway Could Help Rejuvenate Business Districts

ARLINGTON, MA — The towns of Arlington, Lexington and Bedford were recently awarded a Local Rapid Recovery Planning grant by the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative, which will be used to explore ways to drive traffic from the Minuteman Bikeway to certain business districts.

The aim of the grant program is to help communities tailor plans to the unique economic challenges and immediate COVID-19 impacts in their downtowns, town centers and commercial areas.

The grant will focus on Arlington Heights, East Lexington and Bedford Center.

"Arlington’s commercial districts are a key part of our community and our identity as a town," Arlington Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine said in a statement. "Partnering with Lexington and Bedford on this project will leverage an important regional asset in the Minuteman Bikeway, with an average of 3,000 users per day, to our local businesses' benefit."

The project kicks off in mid-March and will include an analysis and exploration of COVID-related challenges and barriers. Technical assistance is focused on developing a marketing and branding plan for the three communities, based on the Minuteman Bikeway and identified business districts.

The plan will help the towns develop immediate strategies for short-term recovery and conclude with a set of projects and steps necessary to address COVID-19 recovery needs. Towns will be working with Finepoint Associates to develop the plan.

"Our communities have a long history of working together, and we look forward to our continued partnership with the Towns of Lexington and Arlington to leverage the important regional asset of the Minuteman Bikeway to benefit our businesses and community," Sarah Stanton, Bedford's town manager, said in a release. "We hope to encourage both residents and visitors using the Bikeway to bike and shop locally."

Ultimately, this planning process will provide the three communities with a concise road map for project-related investments that support alignment with existing public resources, as well as the potential to leverage additional resources from other partners and funders.

"This joint effort will allow Lexington, Bedford, and Arlington to work towards creating a recovery plan that will help local businesses increase foot-traffic and support a sustainable economic growth strategy post-COVID-19 pandemic leveraging the local asset that’s a common link between the three communities," said James Malloy, Lexington's town manager.