Bike Route: Union Square to Central Square

Route facts

Below, you will find information on two bike routes from Union Square in Somerville to Central Square in Cambridge. These routes use quiet streets and separated bike lanes as much as possible.

In contrast to these two routes, the most direct route between the two neighborhoods uses Prospect Street. Prospect Street is a narrow street with little dedicated space for people cycling. The two photos below show you the difference.

  • Two different streets are shown, in order to compare the condition of cycling infrastructure. On the left is the direct route and is a street with no dedicated space for bicyclists. On the right is the quieter route which has a sidewalk-level separated bike lane. Both routes take about 10 minutes to travel by bicycle.
    Comparison of the direct route and the quieter route (under construction).

The route described below is more comfortable because it uses streets with separated bike lanes or streets with fewer motor vehicles. This means that there are very few motorists in the first place or if there are a lot of motorists, you have some time and space to react to any dangers. There are some sections of standard bike lanes in the directions below, but, they are relatively short.

Start: Union Square pedestrian plaza, Somerville
End: Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square, Cambridge

It takes about 10 minutes to cycle this route.

Key

  • Separated bike lane / cycle track = SBL
  • Quiet street / access street = QS
  • Two-stage turn box = 2ST box
  • Shared-lane markings = Sharrow

Directions

If the map above is not showing correctly, visit this URL https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1Ppvdn3DNt53BGm-tDCnTfhWkNxv1Svg&usp=sharing

Written directions for the main route

  1. Go west on Somerville Avenue SBL
  2. Make a two-stage turn at Webster Avenue, that is, cross Somerville Avenue, pull to the right into the 2ST box then cross Washington Street to go to Webster Avenue
    • Washington Street will take you to Harvard Square and Harvard University using SBL and sharrows on busy streets
    • Somerville Avenue will take you to Porter Square and Market Basket on a standard bike lane
  3. Continue on Webster Avenue in a standard bike lane
    • Careful during school start and release times: care giver drop off and pick up traffic can be heavy at times with all doors doors opening from some cars.
  4. Right to Newton Street QS
  5. Newton Street continues into Concord Avenue QS
  6. Left to Hampshire Street in a standard bike lane for a few hundred feet and then into a SBL and Separated intersection
  7. Left to Cambridge Street followed by right to Hampshire Street in SBL
  8. Right to Inman Street QS
  9. Left to Massachusetts Avenue with SBL and standard bike lanes

Alternate Route

  1. Go west on Somerville Avenue SBL
  2. Make a two-stage turn at Webster Avenue, that is, cross Somerville Avenue, pull to the right into the 2ST box then cross Washington Street to go to Webster Avenue
    • Washington Street will take you to Harvard Square and Harvard University using SBL and sharrows on shared busy streets
    • Somerville Avenue will take you to Porter Square and Market Basket on a standard bike lane
  3. Continue on Webster Avenue in a standard bike lane
    • Careful during school start and release times: care giver drop off and pick up traffic can be heavy at times with all doors doors opening from some cars.
  4. Right to Tremont Street QS
  5. Left to Broadway in a sharrow
  6. Right to Norfolk Street QS
  7. Right to Massachusetts Avenue in a standard bike lane
    • You can find covered bicycle parking in the city-owned parking lot (Lot #5).
    • The covered parking area is near Modica Way, known as “Graffiti Alley”. The entrance to H-mart is nearby.
    • If you need help identifying this parking location, you can use this Google location “plus code”: 87JC9V8X+25M
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