Southwest Corridor Park

The Southwest Corridor Park in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts is a 52 acre park developed to preserve green open space and encourage recreational activity. This linear 4.7 mile park is partially built over existing railroad tracks. The park provides several communities with a wide array of outdoor activity options.

History

After residents of Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, South End, Back Bay and Cambridge protested against the building of a 12-lane highway into Cambridge in the 1950’s and 60’s, plans for the highway were scraped. Instead, the funding was used to develop public mass transit and to develop open spaces and recreational facilities. Southwest Corridor Park, which opened in 1987, is the positive result that came out of the community protests.

Activities

In addition to expanses of grass and miles of walking, jogging and biking paths, Southwest Corridor Park has many recreational choices. For the little ones, there are 11 tot lot play areas and two spray pools. The sports enthusiast can choose from seven basketball courts, five tennis courts and two street hockey rinks. There are also two amphitheaters for entertainment activities.

The communities around Southwest Corridor Park take pride in what they have accomplished in creating this park. Today, the parks conservancy maintains an active role in the landscaping, restoring and future enhancements of the park. Volunteer activities to help with the park abound. The result is that the Southwest Corridor Park enriches many lives by providing a place to relax and enjoy continuous outdoor fun in a supportive environment.