Unlocking the Blue Hills
On October 19, 2024, NepRWA participated in the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition’s event, “Unlocking the Blue Hills,” as part of its goal to increase access to the Blue Hills for communities along the Lower Neponset.
The Boston neighborhoods of Dorchester, Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Roxbury are fewer than eight miles from the Blue Hills, yet lack adequate public transportation access to its recreational and cultural opportunities. These include hiking, swimming, off-road biking, and many more within the 100-mile trail system and 7,000 acres of explorable land.
Current MBTA access is limited to two bus routes (the 716 and 238—neither of which extend all the way to Houghton’s Pond), making it much more difficult and time-consuming for transit-dependent residents of these neighborhoods to access the Blue Hills compared to residents of suburban towns farther away who can drive there.
Participants traveled from their communities by bus to Mass Audubon’s Blue Hills Trailside Museum, where they learned about MBTA access, advocacy efforts to extend the bus routes to Houghton’s Pond, hiked a guided trail in the Hills, explored the Museum, enjoyed food from a cooking demonstration, and gathered resources from participating organizations.
These included Brookwood Community Farm, the MBTA Public Engagement Team, Friends of the Blue Hills, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Neponset River Greenway Council, and NepRWA.
- Learn more about our efforts to improve walking and biking access to the Blue Hills at https://www.mapc.org/resource-library/boston-2-blue-hills/
- Visit the StoryMap: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/77be5663ee834d37ae73d8f5a98659a4
