[4][5] In 1985, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a law requiring that the Metropolitan District Commission (later renamed the Department of Conservation and Recreation) close Memorial Drive between Gerry’s Landing Road and Western Avenue between 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., every Sunday from the end of April until mid-November.

[8] Parking is allowed on the westbound side of Memorial Drive for a short segment after JFK Street (except during rush hours, 7am-10am and 4pm-6pm), often surprising motorists in the right lane as there is no change in pavement markings.

[10] DCR widened and reconstructed on an emergency basis the sidewalks on the approach to the BU bridge on the river side (which were not rebuilt in the 2003 and 2016 projects) after a cyclist was struck by a car and killed there in September, 2024.

[11][12] Reconstruction of the segment from JFK Street to the Eliot Bridge is planned to begin in 2025 ("Memorial Drive Greenway Phase III), enacting a road diet by reducing travel from two to one lane in each direction (except at traffic lights), adding a separate and wider bicycle path, removing part of Gerry's Landing Road, and adding a pedestrian crossing at Sparks Street.

[10] The reduction to one lane will eliminate westbound roadway parking, but there will be a scull loading area added on the eastbound side on a different stretch, near the Cambridge Boat Club.

[13] An estimated $46.5 MassDOT project[14] to repair, rebuild, or replace the MassDOT-owned Reid Overpass (which bypasses the DCR-owned rotary) is scheduled and funded for 2027, with planning underway in 2024.

Memorial Drive, like the parkways along the opposite (Boston) side of the river, is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the successor to the Metropolitan District Commission.

In keeping with the recreational mission, the section of Memorial Drive from Western Avenue to the split by Mount Auburn Hospital, at Gerry's Landing Road, is closed to motor vehicles on Sundays in the summer to allow for pedestrian and non-motorized users.