Harvard to Cut Parking Stalls For Employees by 25 Per Cent

Harvard has announced plans to eliminate 25 per cent of its employee parking spaces before next April to meet provisions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Transportation Control plan for the Boston area.

The plans, attached to an August 30 letter from the University Planning Office to the EPA, do not affect the current number of parking spaces alloted to students and resident personnel.

The University intends to reduce its 2965 parking spaces for commuting employees by 741. It will close off sections of existing parking lots, encourage the use of car pools and public transportation and possibly expand the campus bus service.

To discourage employees from parking, Harvard will raise its parking fees and intensify its enforcement of parking rules.

The EPA and the State Transportation Department last November jointly devised a "transportation control plan" to meet requirements of the 1970 federal Clean Air and Water Act.

University Planning Director Harold L. Goyette said Tuesday Harvard's teaching faculty in Cambridge and in the Medical Area will be among persons affected by the cut in parking spaces. He added that the current ratio of parking spaces to employees is 42 per cent.

The plans submitted August 30 noted that current parking fees do not cover adequately the operating costs of the University parking program. They suggest that "as these fees are increased on an annual basis...it is anticipated that a number of commuting employees will be more inclined to use public transportation."