Extending Community Path in works

By Danielle Dreilinger, Globe correspondent

Soon, perhaps you'll be able to get there from here by T or mixed-use path: The City of Somerville is applying for new federal transit funds to extend the Community Path all the way to the Inner Belt/Sullivan Square. The cost was estimated at $20 million five years ago.

Getting the federal money "Would be huge," said Michael Lambert, the city's director of transportation and infrastructure."Right now the state is committed to bringing the path to full engineering but they don't have the money to build it." The path is already being lengthened from Cedar to Lowell streets as part of the Green Line extension.

It's far from a done deal: Competition is expected to be fierce. However, the work to put together the grant application - which is due in about six weeks - "will leave us in a strong position to continue applying for grants and look for other funding," Lambert said. As part of the process, the city will measure the increase in land values and transit use along the existing Community Path from Cedar Street to Davis Square.

Some deals are already done, however: Somerville recently broke ground on two bike travel improvement projects. One expands the bridge that runs between Arlington and Somerville where Route 16 hits the Alewife Brook Parkway. "It's a main connection between Arlington and Somerville and is used by a lot of people on the way to Davis," Lambert said. The initiative also adds a new 8-foot-wide path that runs by Dilboy Stadium all the way to Alewife station.

The second set of improvements cleans up the passageway from one end of the bike path to the other in Davis Sqquare with a clearly outlined route from the drugstore through the bus way to Linear Park. In addition, there will be more bike parking at the station.

Learn more about local cycling initiatives at somervillebikes.org.