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Health & Fitness

Dispatch From Upper Falls: The Back Way

"Back Ways" - the pedestrian-only shortcuts in our neighborhoods that we love.

It’s not a street, no one seems to know who exactly owns it, but it’s everyone’s shortcut. In every neighborhood I’ve ever lived in there’s always been “a back way”. There’s been some unpaved walking path that’s a lot shorter than travelling by city streets.  

The best of these “back ways” are the slightly mysterious ones that involve land that no one’s quite sure who owns. We’ve got a great one in our neighborhood that goes from Rockland Place to the Emerson playground (and school bus stop) on Thurston St. This “back way” is about 400 feet of footpath rather than almost a half mile by city street and it runs between various people’s yards. Though that's a great one, we use the even better one

The other crucial benefit of a good “back way” is that one short stretch of footpath can often open up a much longer alternative route to a place you often go.

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I asked a few Newton friends about their favorite back ways and they passed along these:

Betsy Hewitt said that when her kids went to Countryside school they would sometimes walk from Upper Falls and use two “back ways”.  One would get you from Elliot St to Needham St via a back way over the railroad tracks (soon to be the ).  The other would get you from NE Mobile Book Fair on Needham St to Countryside School via a back way that connects Andrew St to the school’s playground.  It’s a much quieter, more pleasant and shorter walking route than via Needham and Dedham St.

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Chris King said “People in our neighborhood (Newtonville/Nonantum) use the back way to Russo's: walk down to the DCR's river path, cross the Blue Heron Bridge, cut up through the landscaping to the right of the warehouse building across from the bridge, mosey through the alley past where the workers sit out on their break, proceed to Pleasant/River St, turn right and go to Russo's.”

Here’s a Google map showing these “back ways” but I’m sure there are dozens more all over the city.  Tell us about your favorite Newton “back way” in the comment section below and I’ll add it to the map.  Better yet, email (JerReilly@yahoo.com) me a photo and I’ll add it to the photo collection above.

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