Fresh Pond Census Report
How many people visit Fresh Pond Reservation?
- Average air temperature: 35.2 o F
- Total snowfall: 0.5 inches
FPR had the most visitors that month of any February-to-date.
Bicycle and Transportation Infrastructure
Changes to transportation infrastructure near FPR could alter visitor patters. For example:
- FPR received a Blue Bikes station on June 27, 2017
- The Watertown-Cambridge Greenway (WCG) bike path opened in June 2022
These amenities could help more people visit FPR due to increased bicycle accessibility.
Perimeter Road bicycle use did not increase after the Blue Bikes station and WCG opened. This could be because most Perimeter Road users are pedestrians . WCG and Blue Bikes cyclists may park their bikes before walking or jogging on the Perimeter Road.
Anecdotal observations show that pedestrians also use the WCG to access FPR. New users from the WCG since 2022 could help explain why FPR usership remains higher than before 2020 .
Note: Unlike the Perimeter Road, bicycle counts on the Fresh Pond Bike Path increased after the WCG opened in 2022. Learn more about Fresh Pond Bike Path user trends in the appendix .
Development Patterns
New residential developments north and east of FPR could also influence usership. Between 2013 and 2023, there were at least 3,199 new residential units built within a 1-mile radius of FPR. These units have been clustered north/northeast of FPR. This could be why more people appear to be using the northeastern entrances to FPR, such as Lusitania.
Appendices
Appendix: Fresh Pond Bike Path at BPMULTI
Fresh Pond Bike Path User Trends
This Fresh Pond Bike Path sensor (BPMULTI) was operational from 2015 through 2023. It was a "multi" sensor capable of differentiating between bikes and pedestrians.
During this time, most people on the Fresh Pond Bike Path were cyclists. There were with a few exceptions:
- Pedestrians outnumbered cyclists in 2017 and 2018 during the construction detour.
- Pedestrians were roughly equal in number to cyclists in 2020 and 2021. This was due to an increase in pedestrians, not a decrease in bikers.
Between 2021 and 2023, bicycle users on the Fresh Pond Bike Path more than doubled. There were about 66,500 bicycle counts in 2021, rising to 142,300 in 2023.
Watertown-Cambridge Greenway (WCG)
The WCG opened in June 2022, coinciding with this increase. The WCG connects the Fresh Pond Bike Path to Watertown. The WCG likely explains why cyclist counts began increasing in 2022.
Perimeter Road (WTPMULTI) and Fresh Pond Bike Path (BPMULTI) Bicycle Comparison
More cyclists used the Fresh Pond Bike Path than the Perimeter Road between 2015 and 2023.
Appendix: Data Documentation and Methods
Explore the Fresh Pond Reservation Census Program Report Data Documentation for detailed documentation about:
- The sensors used to count users
- Data quality control
- How we calculate usership in this report
Get data presented in this report from the Cambridge Open Data Portal .