Council Greenlights Lower Bow Street Pedestrianization

The City of Cambridge is planning to pedestrianize a section of Lower Bow Street in Harvard Square, prohibiting vehicle access from the stretch between Plympton Street and DeWolfe Street.

In a letter, notifying the Cambridge City Council, Transportation Commissioner Brooke M. McKenna wrote that the City plans to begin the pedestrianization in the spring, in time for restaurants on the block to open their outdoor dining areas.

The street reopened in late August after two years of closure due to Harvard’s renovation of Adams House.

Karoline M. “Kari” Kuelzer owns the Sea Hag, a restaurant that backs up to Bow Street. She has been a staunch advocate for pedestrianization in Harvard Square and believes the move will connect stores on Mt. Auburn to foot traffic throughout the Square.

“There’s really no storefronts on that piece of Bow Street, and that would connect our little block of real estate retailers better to the focal points of Harvard Square,” Kuelzer said.

Kuelzer said she welcomes the opportunity to open a patio area at the Sea Hag, as it will expand the restaurant’s capacity, especially useful when the Square is filled for events.

“In my experience, there are days in which all of your business is outside because it’s gorgeous, and there’s day where the capacity is useful, because Harvard Square is just overly busy,” Kuelzer said.

The Council decided to pedestrianize Bow Street because of businesses plans to utilize the area for outdoor dining. And since the street has been closed over the past years, the city is waiving a traffic report to study the impact of the change.

“The really important thing is that pedestrianization only works if you have some kind of activation of the street space, otherwise you’re really not opening the street to pedestrians. You’re just closing it to cars,” Kuelzer said.

Councilor Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80, who introduced the order requesting the City look into the pedestrianization of Bow Street, said she thinks Cambridge can take inspiration from European urban designs which prioritize pedestrianized streets.

“Let’s recreate what European squares create, which is a permanent place where people are out, where cafes spill over onto the street, outdoors, permanently — not just for a long weekend,” Nolan said.

Councilors also viewed stimulating the local economy by increasing foot traffic for local businesses. Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern said that the pedestrianization is a way to attract people to businesses in Cambridge.

“We want to bring people into Cambridge and bring people into our squares,” McGovern said. “This is just another way to do it.”

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at shawn.boehmer@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer

—Staff writer Jack B. Reardon can be reached at jack.reardon@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @JackBReardon.