Council Proposes Harvard Square War Memorial

A small public park and war memorial should be established in the roadway abutting the Inn at Harvard, officials and community leaders told the Cambridge City Council last night.

The proposed park--which would be called the Sergeant Thomas J. Williams War Memorial--would fill the triangular area formed by the intersection of Mass Ave and Harvard Street.

"[The park] would be an excellent way of providing for open space, pedestrian needs and beautification of the entrance to Harvard Square," said Phoebe M. Brooke, co-chair of the Quincy Square Design Development Committee, a group which helped finalize the proposal presented to the city council.

The committee's proposal represents the culmination of nearly five years of planning by the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association, according to an August 1 report issued by Assistant City Manager Susan B. Schlesinger.

"Their goal was to expand the opportunities for new green space...in the large area of asphalt," Schlesinger wrote.

The 16-person neighborhood group originally advocated the creation of two separate public areas in front of the hotel and Lamont Library, expanding the sidewalk along Mass Ave and preventing cars from turning left onto Bow Street, Brooke said.

But earlier this month, group members swung their support to the present proposal because of concerns about congestion in the area, according to John R. Pitkin, co-chair.

A September 14 study by Rizzo and Associates, a Newton, Mass., engineering firm, concluded that the smaller memorial would not adversely impact traffic flow in the area.

"We will avoid the bottle necking of traffic and still have created something," Pitkin said.

Creation of the memorial will also improve safety for pedestrians seeking to cross the busy intersection, according to Rizzo and Associates employee Barry Pell.

"[It can provide] pedestrians and drivers with an improved view of one another," Pell wrote. "[It] also reduce [s] pedestrian crossing distance, thereby lowering their exposure time to vehicles."

The overwhelming majority of citizens submitting testimony to the committee expressed support for the project.

"I wholeheartedly support your endeavor and accurately represent the approval of many of my neighbors," said resident Daniel P. Anderson.

Those opposing the project, however, said the park could become a hangout for drug addicts, criminals and the homeless.

Although city officials have not yet determined the landscape and design of the memorial, Brooke said it will likely look similar to MacArthur Square and other public areas within Harvard Square.

Schlesinger said that the estimated $830,000 construction costs for the memorial will be financed with a combination of taxpayer money and a joint escrow account held with Harvard University.

A target date for the project's completion will be set pending its final approval by the city council, which took no action on the matter last night.