Construction Begins On Quincy Square Park

In a move likely to increase safety for students crossing Mass. Ave, between the River and the Yard, Cambridge has broken ground for a new park in Quincy Square, the triangular space between Mass. Ave, and Harvard Street behind Lamont Library.

Scott Levitan, director of university and commercial properties at Harvard Planning and Real Estate and Harvard's representative on the 15-member Quincy Park design committee, said the park will be most beneficial to students for its contribution to increased pedestrian safety.

"The route of DeWolfe to Bow to Quincy is very heavily traveled by students coming from the river houses to classes and libraries," he said.

The Quincy Square Park was initially proposed by a neighborhood group in the late 1980s when planning began for the Harvard owned Inn at Harvard, said Susan B. Schlesinger, assistant city manager for community development.

"At that time Quincy Square was a sea of asphalt where tour buses parked," she said. "It was not a visually pleasing area."

The first report on the Quincy Square Park was made to the Cambridge City Council in 1991, Schlesinger said. The design for the park was considered in hearings and discussions with neighborhood residents and local businesses.

City Engineer Ann G. Daughaday said the council approved the project this fall after the completion of a sewer separation project beneath the square.

The final design was approved by the park committee last Wednesday night, Levitan said.

A construction crew of three to five workers completed the process of installing curbs for the park yesterday, Daughaday said.

By the end of next week, parts of the street will be raised to curbs level and asphalt will be laid for walkways, she said. A crew will return to the site in the early spring to install benches and plant trees, shrubs and flowers.

Financing for the park, which Schlesinger estimated would cost between $850,000 to $865,000 to build, come from three sources.

Harvard dedicated the proceeds of a previous sale of land to Cambridge that the city had claimed by eminent domain. The total proceeds contributed by Harvard amounted to about $500,000, including interest on the escrow fund, Levitan said.

Other sources of funding for the project are the Harvard Square Improvement Fund, into which developers in the Square pay a fee, and highway funds from the Cambridge Department of Public Works, Schlesinger said.

At council meetings this fall, residents said they were concerned that traffic would have to be rerouted and historical landmarks would be obliterated from view.

The Cambridge Historical Commission had been concerned that the traditional sight lines down Harvard Street from Harvard Square and vice versa were maintained, according to Charles M. Sullivan, executive director of the commission.

But he said the commission was "very pleased with the plan."

Schlesinger said had also voiced concerns that motorists would not be able to make a right turn onto Harvard Street from Mass. Ave., but the turn will be allowed.

Tour buses which parked in Quincy Square will be encouraged to use the parking lots at the Harvard stadium, according to Maura A. Smith, executive director of the Cambridge Office for Tourism.

Smith said it was never legal for tour buses to park in Quincy Square, but "the city allowed it because there was nowhere else."

Levitan said the fence in front of Lamont Library will be moved in order to accommodate fire engines' wide turning radius, as they will no longer be able to make the wide turn onto Mass. Ave. from Harvard Street.

Despite citizens' concerns, administrators involved in the project were supportive of its progress.

"It's basically a plaza with a walkway through it with areas of plantings and very few benches," Schlesinger said. "It's designed to be a passive open space--not a playground but a place that is visually pleasing and provides linkages to the two sides of the street.

The final design was approved by the park committee last Wednesday night, Levitan said.

A construction crew of three to five workers completed the process of installing curbs for the park yesterday, Daughaday said.

By the end of next week, parts of the street will be raised to curbs level and asphalt will be laid for walkways, she said. A crew will return to the site in the early spring to install benches and plant trees, shrubs and flowers.

Financing for the park, which Schlesinger estimated would cost between $850,000 to $865,000 to build, come from three sources.

Harvard dedicated the proceeds of a previous sale of land to Cambridge that the city had claimed by eminent domain. The total proceeds contributed by Harvard amounted to about $500,000, including interest on the escrow fund, Levitan said.

Other sources of funding for the project are the Harvard Square Improvement Fund, into which developers in the Square pay a fee, and highway funds from the Cambridge Department of Public Works, Schlesinger said.

At council meetings this fall, residents said they were concerned that traffic would have to be rerouted and historical landmarks would be obliterated from view.

The Cambridge Historical Commission had been concerned that the traditional sight lines down Harvard Street from Harvard Square and vice versa were maintained, according to Charles M. Sullivan, executive director of the commission.

But he said the commission was "very pleased with the plan."

Schlesinger said had also voiced concerns that motorists would not be able to make a right turn onto Harvard Street from Mass. Ave., but the turn will be allowed.

Tour buses which parked in Quincy Square will be encouraged to use the parking lots at the Harvard stadium, according to Maura A. Smith, executive director of the Cambridge Office for Tourism.

Smith said it was never legal for tour buses to park in Quincy Square, but "the city allowed it because there was nowhere else."

Levitan said the fence in front of Lamont Library will be moved in order to accommodate fire engines' wide turning radius, as they will no longer be able to make the wide turn onto Mass. Ave. from Harvard Street.

Despite citizens' concerns, administrators involved in the project were supportive of its progress.

"It's basically a plaza with a walkway through it with areas of plantings and very few benches," Schlesinger said. "It's designed to be a passive open space--not a playground but a place that is visually pleasing and provides linkages to the two sides of the street.