CRWA in the News

Harvard Task Force Discusses Discussions

By Meghann Ackerman

Allston-Brighton Tab, Friday, June 16, 2006

     Future topics of discussion were the topic of discussion at Monday night's Harvard Allston Task Force meeting. Both task force members, and representatives from Harvard and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, agreed that it was time to set more concrete agendas for future meetings.

    "The thing I like about setting dates for certain topics is that people can do leg work," said task force member John Cusack.

    Harry Mattison, also a task force member, suggested that topics could be divided among the task force, with a few people researching each issue.

    BRA Senior Project Manager Gerald Autler suggested the task force address issues that have been brought up repeatedly but never fully discussed, such as interim use of Harvard's new buildings, community benefits, transportation and future Harvard development of North Allston.

    With names like Barry's Corner, North Brighton , North Allston and Little Cambridge all used to describe the area being developed by Harvard, task force Chairman Ray Mellone suggested they first look at the neighborhood's identity.

    "Without an identity, we don't get the respect and recognition we deserve," he said. "We need to create a new Allston and that needs to start tonight."

    In a conversation after the Harvard Allston Task Force meeting, Pallavi Mande, an urban restoration specialist at the Charles River Watershed Association, talked about how environmental sustainability could be worked into Harvard's Allston campus.

    "The whole area used to be marshland. It was all paved over and built on without a plan for how the water would flow," she explained.

    The result, Mande said, is a high water table that leads to soggy land and flooding during heavy rains. Development, however, could be used to help alleviate these problems.

    "The redevelopment needs to pay close attention to how water is flowing in the area. We have a chance to correct mistakes that were made in the past," she said.

    One solution would be to "daylight" a stream that runs through the site of Harvard's proposed science complex. This would be done by cutting open a buried culvert that is hiding the stream and reopening it to the surface.

    Harvard Stadium will be getting a new synthetic turf field and lights for next season. Because the changes are considered internal renovations, the university only had to have them approved by the Landmarks Commission.

    "The lights will not be visible from outside," Kevin McCluskey, director of community relations for Harvard, assured neighbors. "We don't anticipate any night games."

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