City Proposes Parking Lot in Allston

The Cambridge Planning and Development Department has proposed the construction of a large parking garage in Allston, connected to Harvard Square by a shuttle bus service, to bolster the Square's diminishing parking facilities.

The proposed three-level garage, located on Western Ave, near the entrance ramps to the Massachusetts Turnpike, would house between 100 and 1500 cars.

The land is owned by the Turnpike Authority. John H. McCue, director of real estate for the Authority, said yesterday that no one has discussed the proposals with him.

Robert A. Boyer, director of planning for Cambridge, presented the proposal to Alan A. Altshuler, Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation, and Bruce Campbell, Commissioner of Public Works.

Boyer said yesterday that the next step in implementing the proposals is for "Altshuler or Campbell to convene the various agencies involved."

"All we need now is for people to agree on the concept, not the specifics," Boyer said.

The concept of parking across the Charles River in Allston is attractive to Cambridge because of the lover land costs.

The proposed parking facility, situated adjacent to the Turnpike and Storrow Drive, would compensate for the loss of off-street parking areas nearer the Square which are being converted into new commercial developments.

State Rep. John F. Melia (D-Allston) said yesterday that the Legislature already has a proposal pending to use the land as a housing development for senior citizens.

That bill passed the House of Representatives three weeks ago and is now before the State Senate.

Under Boyer's proposal, the shuttle bus would run approximately every 10 minutes from the garage past the Business School, across the Charles to the Kennedy Library, through the Square and to the Cambridge Common.

An alternate path would include a circular route down Mt. Auburn St. and Putnam Ave. before returning to the garage via the Western Ave. bridge.

Visitor Estimates

Much of the new development in Harvard Square is being spurred by the John F. Kennedy Library. Visitor estimates for the Library range from 800,000 to 1.5 million per year and the number of parking spaces required for visitors from 400 to 1150.

The Kennedy Corporation which originally planned to build between 600 and 1000 parking spaces underground, is now planning a surface level parking lot for 525 cars.

The Library Corporation abandoned the underground parking plans earlier this year because of high cost estimates.

The surface parking on the Kennedy site will probably be a temporary facility. "We plan to go ahead with the mandated portion of the Complex and wait for other nearby developments before developing the rest of the land," Helen Keyes, administrator of the Kennedy Corporation, said yesterday.

Boyer also proposed that Harvard share the shuttle bus system to transport students and personnel between the dormitories and Soldiers Field or the Business School.