Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/514590
28 | JULY 2015 nshoremag.com PLACES All of those experiences are packed into Stoneham, a town where the residents are aware of just how special their community is. "If you are in the square, you are basically 15 minutes from any ex- perience you'd like to have in your life," boasts Rachel Meredith-War- ren, chair of the Stoneham Square Action Plan Advisory Committee. "It's that ability to pick up my kids at school and be in the wilderness in five minutes, or get Indian food or sushi in five minutes, or be at the Museum of Science in 15 minutes. I just think that's tremendous." In fact, that combination of city amenities and accessible wilderness is why Meredith-Warren chose to move to Stoneham in the first place. She's not alone. Anthony Wilson, chair of the Stoneham Bikeway/ Greenway Committee, says Stone- ham's location and walkability appealed to him, too. He says nearly all of his favorite places in town, from the Middlesex Fells to the gourmet pizza at Angelo's, are walk- able from his house. Stoneham's central location with regards to routes 93 and 128 is also key for commuters. "The town's location is great!" Wil- son says. "Stoneham is 20 minutes from the ocean, 15 from the airport, and 10 minutes from the Burlington mall." That walkability and easy com- muter location will be getting even more of a boost thanks to two initia- tives that Meredith-Warren and Wil- son are respectively spearheading. The Stoneham Square Action Plan Advisory Committee is working to make Stoneham's downtown area even more vibrant for residents and visitors. Among the five-year plan's initiatives are things like improv- ing public transportation, making the downtown more walkable, adding more community events, and beautifying the streetscapes. Meredith-Warren says the down- town improvement plan will make the area function better for busi- nesses and residents. "It's a really important location, and it just needs to be improved in certain ways," she says. One such improvement is the development of the Tri-Community Bike/Greenway, a MassDOT-funded project that will link Stoneham, Wo- burn, and Winchester via a 60-foot- wide, ADA-compliant multiuse bike and walking path. According to Wilson, the Greenway will benefit wide swaths of people: Not only will it allow people space to get outside and exercise, but it will also help commuters who want to ride to the Winchester commuter rail station, and will link Stoneham's disparate neighborhoods to each other and the downtown. "Connecting the different neighborhoods will bring people downtown, and that helps our busi- nesses," he says. Stoneham's town administrator, David Ragucci, agrees, saying, "We are feeling that some of the folks that will be using the Greenway will spend some time and dollars in Stoneham." Wilson says that primary con- struction on the Greenway will start in spring 2016 and take one year, with details such as striping and landscaping being done during a second year of construction. Although there are many new Date of settlement 1645 Date of incorporation 1725 Area 6.7 sq. mi. Population 21,437 ZIP code 02180 Median household income $56,605 STONEHAM DETAILS MEDIAN 40 Elm St., 3 br., 1 ba., 1,144 sq. ft., 0.12 acre PRICE $349,000 AGENT Keller Williams Realty kw.com HIGH END 4 Marion St., 9 bd., 4.5 ba., 6,119 sq. ft., 0.61 acre PRICE $949,900 AGENT Century 21 Celli century21celli.com Real Estate Olympic medalist figure skater Nancy Kerrigan; blues guitarist J. Geils; comedian and actor Mario Cantone; Social Distortion band member Mike Ness NOTABLE RESIDENTS Colonial Park Elementary, Robin Hood Elementary, South Elementary, Stoneham Central Middle School, Stoneham High School PUBLIC SCHOOLS Stoneham photograph by Jennifer Welter