The Mill River is a long tributary of the Connecticut River in Springfield, Massachusetts. It flows from

Watershops Pond Watershops Pond (or Lake Massasoit) is a lake in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Located in the Upper Hill neighborhood, it is the city's second-largest body of water, after the Connecticut River. Watershops Pond features 7 miles of shorel ...

(also known as Lake Massasoit) to its confluence with the Connecticut River. It is referred to as "The Miracle Mile" in a 2009 master's thesis that outlines possibilities for reclaiming the river's mouth as a recreational area. As of 2011, the final of the river, including its mouth, is confined in a pipe underneath

Interstate 91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Conne ...

, railroad tracks and a car dealership.Verel, Amy C. (December 2009)
Reclaiming the Miracle Mile: A Greenway Park Design & Land Use Strategy for Springfield's Lower Mill River
Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects. Paper 8.

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

. Many Springfield residents have bemoaned the loss of the Mill River as a recreational area, and hope to gain greater access to both it and Connecticut Rivers in upcoming years. As it has for over a century, today the Mill River serves as a barrier between Springfield neighborhoods. Surrounding it are some of the most densely urbanized locations in Springfield. At the head of Springfield's Mill River there are steep, stone retaining walls that were built to prevent the river's banks from degrading any further. The Mill River was once valued for its benefits to developing industry. Today, incompatible land uses present a problem to "freeing" the Mill River to become a recreational area again. A 2009 master's thesis has described a plan that could revitalize the Mill River and its surrounding neighborhoods by remaking the river as a recreational attraction, connecting the Connecticut River and the Basketball Hall of Fame with Watershops Pond and Springfield College.

References

{{Coord, 42, 06, 25, N, 72, 32, 35, W, type:waterbody_region:US-MA_source:GNIS, display=title Tributaries of the Connecticut River Rivers of Hampden County, Massachusetts Geography of Springfield, Massachusetts Rivers of Massachusetts