Council Votes to Close Streets in House Area

Starting this fall, the streets among the Houses will become "private roads," closed to all student automobiles. By an 8-1 vote on Monday, the Cambridge City Council approved a Traffic Board recommendation closing portions of Dunster, Holyoke, Mill, and South Streets and Riverview Avenue. For the next few years, the University will chain off the streets, allowing only fire apparatus, delivery trucks, and other necessary transportation.

According to Charles P. Whitlock, Assistant to the President for Civic Affairs, the University may bar all traffic on the "private roads" in the future, pending Council approval. "This would create a traffic-free area similar to the Yard," he told the Council.

Three Main Reasons

Whitlock cited three main reasons for the change. Closing the streets would eliminate a great fire hazard, he claimed, since parked automobiles frequently block the pasage of fire trucks. Undergraduate parking outside official lots would be curtailed, while the eyesore of "Fender Alley"--Riverview Avenue--would also be eliminated.

Debate on the proposal took only a few minutes. After suspending the rules to place the Traffic Board recommendation first on the docket, Mayor Edward J. Crane '35 and the other members of the Council heard brief remarks by Whitlock and Chief of Police Andrew Brennan.

The traditional anti-Harvard faction remained largely silent during discussion of the proposal. Councillor Al Vellucci, noted for his proposal to turn the Yard into a parking lot, sided with the majority in the lopsided decision.

Only Councillor Walter Sullivan opposed the measure. Disputing Whitlock's estimate that only 60 parking places would be lost, Sullivan predicted the loss of 178 places, causing jams in streets adjacent to the Houses.

University Police patrols, which currently operate from midnight to 6 a.m., may patrol during the day if student cars cause such jams.

The Council's ruling in effect eliminates almost all student parking on the Cambridge side of the river. With the exception of a few backyard spaces and private garages, parking can be found only in the Business School area, which provides 2,025 places, for an annual $40 fee.