Challenge

The Mary Ellen Welch Greenway (MEWG) is a linear recreational open space in East Boston with the potential to connect to greenway networks and neighborhood linkages in Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. Multiple jurisdictions share ownership and maintenance responsibilities along the corridor, creating uncertainty about how an extension could move forward. Local advocates and residents saw the need for a clear plan to identify feasible routes, coordinate partners, and lay the groundwork for future funding and implementation.

Solution

Kittelson assembled a multidisciplinary consultant team to conduct a feasibility study for extending the greenway from the Orient Heights MBTA Blue Line Station in East Boston to the Belle Isle Marsh Marine Ecology Park in Winthrop. The study sought to define potential alignments, assess constructability, and identify the steps needed to make the extension a reality.

The Kittelson team assessed three primary route options and recommended a preferred alignment after evaluating each route based on community-driven goals.

Outreach included a site walk, two surveys that gathered more than 1,000 responses, project updates at Greenway Council meetings, and on-site events at multiple study area locations. The team also met with agency representatives, property owners, and residents through focus groups and public events to better understand opportunities and concerns along the corridor.

Existing conditions analyses included right-of-way and private property ownership, environmental review, agency maintenance, operations needs, bike and pedestrian facilities and crossings presence and condition, utilities and streetscaping, crash history, and vehicle operations. Each segment of the potential route was evaluated for constructability, operations, and user quality criteria, which led to the identification of a preferred alignment that balanced community goals with practical feasibility.