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Memorial Drive is one of the main streets in Cambridge. The tree-lined drive runs along the Charles River and is home to many Harvard University buildings. On a summer day you can see rowers from Harvard rowing on the Charles, sailboats gliding towards downtown and sunbathers on the grass along the side of the river. It’s a 2 lane highway with traffic lights, so cars can’t go as fast as they’d like but sometimes do anyway. As a pedestrian you need to be extra careful.

Storrow Drive is one of the main highways in Boston. Starting in Boston it runs along the Charles River to Watertown and eventually connects to I90. It’s a 2 lane highway, so can be a little dangerous at times with cars speeding. I love to drive on Storrow and watch the runners on the footpath and the rowers on the Charles – as a passenger of course!

Highland Ave is one of the main streets running through Somerville. It connects East Cambridge to the heart of Somerville – Davis Square. For the most part, it’s a residential street with many 2 family homes. There is a bus line that runs on the street and makes for a bit of noise and traffic. The end of Highland near Davis Square has some unique independent boutiques and cafes.

McGrath Highway stretches from Boston to Medford, passing through East Cambridge and Somerville. There are a few shopping centers off the highway – Shaw’s supermarket, the Target shopping center in Cambridge and the Stop & Shop shopping center in Somerville. It is a non-residential main thoroughfare that can be rather dangerous in certain areas, especially at the traffic light where McGrath meets Highland. This traffic light sneaks up on speeding cars and I have often witnessed people running the red light and worried that I would be rear ended due to speeding cars not anticipating the traffic light being there.

Arlington Street, at the beginning of Back Bay abuts the Public Garden and stretches from Beacon Street to the Theater District. Its proximity to the Public Garden makes it a serene street for relaxing stroll and the Back Bay brownstone neighborhood is a quiet and gorgeous is rather expensive area in which to live in Boston. Around rush hour the traffic can get quite heavy due to the nearby off ramp for the highway. There are also not many retail shops or cafes close by unless you wander away from the park on Arlington toward Boylston Street.