MetroWest is a cluster of cities and towns lying west of Boston and east of Worcester, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The name was coined in the 1980s by a local newspaper.
MetroWest is a cluster of cities and towns lying west of Boston and east of Worcester, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The name was coined in the 1980s by a local newspaper.
While regional definitions vary, the MetroWest Economic Research Center at Framingham State University defines MetroWest as the nine communities of Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Natick, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, and Wayland, representing a total population of approximately 184,000. With the exception of Southborough, in Worcester County, these towns are part of Middlesex County. [1]
The MetroWest Chamber of Commerce has a service area that includes these nine towns plus Westborough.
The 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership calls the region the "Arc of Innovation" because it is and has been home to many of Massachusetts' largest and fastest growing companies since the 1970s. [2] [3] In addition to the nine towns mentioned above, 26 other municipalities in Middlesex, Norfolk and Worcester counties are included in the 495/MetroWest area as defined by the 495/MetroWest Partnership:
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The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) divides the Boston metropolitan area into eight subregions, each with a planning committee. The MetroWest Regional Collaborative (MWRC) works with nine cities and towns: Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Marlborough, Natick, Southborough, Wayland, Wellesley, and Weston. This list overlaps, but is not identical, to the other lists.
The MetroWest Daily News indicates its service area by listing 14 communities at the bottom of its web site: Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Natick, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sudbury, Wayland, Westborough, and Weston. Again, this list overlaps but is not identical to any of the other lists.
Yellow Book's MetroWest edition defines MetroWest as all cities and towns completely or partially enclosed by Interstate 93 on the northeast, Interstate 495 on the north and west, and Interstate 95 on the east and south, stretching as far north as Westford and Chelmsford, and as far northeast as Wilmington.
The MetroWest Daily News , based in Framingham (MetroWest's most populous town), circulates in most of the towns in MetroWest. The newspaper, formerly called the Middlesex News, South Middlesex News, and Framingham Evening News, held a contest to name its coverage area in 1983; MetroWest, reporter Greg Supernovich's suggestion, beat out competitors such as "Databelt" (a nod to the region's high-tech industry). The newspaper incorporated the regional name into its own name in 1999. [4]
Supernovich said he chose the name, MetroWest, for a number of reasons. One of those was geography. Both the North Shore and South Shore around Boston were lasting names, so he concluded, after studying a Boston map, that the name had to include the word, "West," since the region's towns were west of Boston. Also, he said he was the health/environmental reporter at the newspaper at the time, and his job affected his values. He thought of the American West as wild and natural, and hoped that the area west of Boston would maintain its natural heritage of some open space, conservation areas, river corridors, wildlife habitats, and clean air and water, a model that would create a safe and healthy place for its residents. Yes, he said, he understood the importance of business and commerce as the major contributors of jobs and economic vitality to the region, but he hoped they would pursue their interests with social responsibility to protect people's health and the environment. As for "Metro", he said it was clear at the time he chose the name that the cities and towns west of Boston would continue to grow as part of a metropolitan Boston area. Lastly, he noted that he liked the sound of "MetroWest", and its modern look of combining two words to create a new word/concept. (Supernovich, 2014)
Originally, "MetroWest" was newspaper and real estate agent shorthand for "Framingham-Natick area", but a 1998 article in The Boston Globe showed, by examining the local phonebook, how accepted the term had become in less than ten years: [4]
In the 1998 edition, there are 88 [listings], from Metro West Christian Academy in Ashland to Metrowest Urology in Natick, including such big names as Metrowest Bank, MetroWest Medical Center and the Metrowest Economic Research Center at Framingham State College. On Beacon Hill, there is a Metrowest Legislative Caucus.
By 2006, the name had gained such widespread acceptance in Massachusetts—and was so synonymous with prosperous businesses—that the airport commission in Worcester, a half-hour drive west of Framingham, suggested changing the name of the city's airport from Worcester Regional Airport to "Worcester-MetroWest-Boston Airport". [5]
The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority was formed in 2006.
In Western Massachusetts, The Republican newspaper in Springfield uses the term "Metro West" to designate the city's western suburbs (and "Metro East" on the other side of the city).
The designation "MetroWest" is also used by certain regions west of metropolitan areas in other states such as New Jersey, though the term does not appear to have achieved elsewhere the level of usage it has in Massachusetts.
Ashland is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the MetroWest region. The population was 18,832 at the 2020 United States Census.
Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Framingham is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is within Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers 25 square miles (65 km2) with a population of 72,362 in 2020, making it the 14th most populous municipality in Massachusetts. Residents voted in favor of adopting a charter to transition from a representative town meeting system to a mayor–council government in April 2017, and the municipality transitioned to city status on January 1, 2018.
Hopkinton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, 25 miles (40 km) west of Boston. The town is best known as the starting point of the Boston Marathon, held annually on Patriots' Day each April, and as the headquarters for the Dell EMC corporation.
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern arc of the Northeast megalopolis, so Greater Boston means both a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and a combined statistical area (CSA), which is broader. The MSA consists of most of the eastern third of Massachusetts, excluding the South Coast and Cape Cod; the CSA additionally includes the municipalities of Providence, Manchester, Worcester, the South Coast region, and Cape Cod. While the city of Boston covers 48.4 square miles (125 km2) and has 675,647 residents as of the 2020 census, the urbanization has extended well into surrounding areas and the CSA has a more than 8.4 million people, making it one of the most populous such regions in the U.S. The CSA is one of two in Massachusetts, the other being Greater Springfield. Greater Boston is the only CSA in New England that lies in three states ; some definitions extend it into a fourth (Connecticut).
The MetroWest Daily News is an American daily newspaper published in Framingham, Massachusetts, serving the MetroWest region of suburban Boston. The newspaper is owned by Gannett.
Boston and Worcester Electric Companies (B&W) was a holding company for several streetcar companies between Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts. The main line, built by the Boston and Worcester Street Railway, was an interurban streetcar line partly on the old Boston and Worcester Turnpike and partly on private right-of-way. Long after the line was converted to buses, Boston and Worcester Lines took over operations, and sold the franchises to various other bus companies.
The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts through the MetroWest region, serving 17 station stops in Boston, Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Framingham, Ashland, Southborough, Westborough, Grafton, and Worcester. The third-longest and second-busiest line on the system, the Framingham/Worcester Line contends with interference from freight trains, and a number of non-handicapped-accessible stations. Service on the line is a mix of local and express trains serving Worcester plus short-turn Framingham locals.
Route 30 is a 36.3817-mile-long (58.5507 km) east–west arterial route, connecting Grafton with Packard's Corner in Boston. Route 30 runs roughly parallel to the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 9, but unlike those two larger highways, takes a more meandering path from town to town. Between Boston and the Charles River it is known as Commonwealth Avenue, along most of this route is part of the course of the Boston Marathon.
Massachusetts's 4th congressional district is located mostly in southern Massachusetts. It is represented by Democrat Jake Auchincloss. Auchincloss was first elected in 2020.
Route 135 is a 29.53-mile-long (47.52 km) east-west state highway in eastern Massachusetts. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 20 in Northborough and the eastern terminus is at I-95 and Route 128 in Dedham.
The Sudbury River is a 32.7-mile-long (52.6 km) tributary of the Concord River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States.
Tab Communications Inc., based first in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, then in nearby Needham, was a weekly newspaper publisher in Greater Boston before being bought by Fidelity Investments in 1992 and dissolved into Community Newspaper Company in 1996.
Ashland station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Ashland, Massachusetts. It serves the Framingham/Worcester Line. It has a long driveway leading from the south parking lot to the intersection of West Union Street and Voyagers Lane. Like the other stations on the line west of Framingham, Ashland serves as a park-and-ride station with 678 parking spots.
Southborough station is a commuter rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line, located near the intersection of Cordaville Street and River Street in the Cordaville section of Southborough, Massachusetts. The parking area is located off River Street adjacent to the inbound platform. Passengers use ramps and stairways to access the sidewalk along River Street to cross under the tracks.
Westborough station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Westborough, Massachusetts. It serves the Framingham/Worcester Line. It is located off Smith Parkway, west of the Westborough town center. The station consists of two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. Each side has a small mini-high platform for accessibility; an overhead ramp structure connects the two platforms.
Framingham is a historic Boston and Albany Railroad station located in downtown Framingham, Massachusetts. Designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson, it was one of the last of the railroad stations he designed in the northeastern United States to be built. The station, built in 1884–85, served as a major stop on the B&A Main Line as well as a hub for branch lines to Milford, Mansfield, Fitchburg, and Lowell. After years of deterioration, the station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as the Framingham Railroad Station, and restored a decade later.
The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) is a regional public transit authority in the state of Massachusetts providing bus and paratransit service to eleven communities in the Boston MetroWest. The MWRTA was formed in 2006 and began service on July 1, 2007 with the purpose of filling a void in public transportation service in the MetroWest. Through a commitment to deliver expanded public transportation service to the business and commercial hubs across the MetroWest region, the goals and purpose of the MWRTA are embodied in its mission statement: "Build a public transportation system to deliver convenient and dependable service that enhances mobility, environmental quality and economic vitality in the region." Funding for the MWRTA comes partially from the state and local governments of the communities it operates within.
Carolyn (Coyne) Dykema is the Massachusetts State Representative from the Massachusetts House of Representatives' 8th Middlesex district. For 2012 and subsequent elections, the Eighth Middlesex is made up of Holliston, Hopkinton, Southborough, and precinct 2 of Westborough. Holliston and Hopkinton are in Middlesex County, the district's namesake, while Southborough and Westborough are in Worcester County.
