Shuttle Stop To Be Moved From Johnston to Near Boylston Gate

The Johnston Gate shuttle stop—which serves Harvard affiliates traveling to the Radcliffe Quadrangle from Harvard Square—is being moved as part of an effort to improve the flow of traffic in the Square.

The Johnston Gate stop has been temporarily relocated to a site between Boylston Gate and Widener Gate, but it is closer to the former. Though this is a temporary location, the final site will likely be near Boylston Gate, according to Carl Tempesta, the operations manager of the transportation services. The final site will be a stop both for the Quad and the Longwood Medical Area shuttles.

The change also affects the shuttle serving the Harvard Business School, Soldiers Field Park, and the Allston campus. This shuttle route will now terminate at the end of John F. Kennedy Street—near Citizens Bank—instead of at Johnston Gate.

The upcoming changes to the Johnston Gate and Garden Street stops are part of the ongoing Harvard Square Improvement Project, a multimillion dollar effort by the City of Cambridge and the University to improve Harvard Square and make it more pedestrian-friendly.

The 18-month campaign, begun in April 2005, is being funded by a $5.5 million contribution from the city and a $1.3 million contribution from the University. The project seeks to improve the Square’s storm water system, streets, sidewalks, plazas, and lighting.

Among the most visible changes arising from the project is the construction of a landscaped island in Lampoon Plaza—the area formed by the intersection of Mt. Auburn Street, Bow Street, and Linden Street. The island will be just west of the Harvard Lampoon, a semi-secret Sorrento Square social organization that used to occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine.

Church, Palmer, Winthrop, and parts of JFK Streets will also have improvements made. The streets will be resurfaced, lighting fixtures will be installed, and sidewalks will be widened.

The project is supported by the Harvard Square Business Association and is a direct result of the publication of “Polishing the Trophy,” a 1998 study commissioned by local property owners that called for renovations to the Square.

—Staff writer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani@fas.harvard.edu.