Cambridge to Reduce Traffic at Intersection

In a change that could make it safer for Quad residents to walk home from class, the city of Cambridge has approved a plan to prohibit automobiles from using Follen and Little Concord Streets.

The new plan will cut off the two streets from what is now a six-way intersection where Garden St., Concord Ave., Follen and Little Concord meet. With the change, that patch of road, which sits in front of the Longy School of Music, will become a more conventional four-way intersection.

The intersection has long been a source of concern for students walking or biking to the Quad. Dave M. Gaudette, a resident tutor affiliated with Currier, said he agrees with the decision.

"I think it's a great idea," Gaudette said. "I think it's a really dangerous intersection. In the three years that I've lived in Currier, I have witnessed several accidents. I think it's long overdue."

To render Follen and Little Concord inaccessible to automobiles, the city will place bricks and plant trees over the pavement.

In addition, a new traffic light will be installed at the intersection of Concord and Garden Street.

The new light will also make the area safer, said Ann T. Daughaday, a city engineer who is working on the project.

"At that intersection right now, it is really hard for pedestrians to cross," Daughaday said. "There is no traffic light, just a flashing light."

Construction on the project is slated to begin this fall, Daughaday said, although the completion date is uncertain.

"I think that blocking off the little path would be safer because cars are always coming from the side there and you can't see them," said Michael N. Alper '97, who lived on 29 Garden St. last year.

But several local residents are unhappy about the change. Some believe the closing of the streets and the additional traffic that will have to be rerouted onto Waterhouse St. could make it harder for them to park and exit, according to City Councillor William H. Walsh.

Other local residents have complained that the city has not made its plans clear to them.

"It has not been basically well-expressed and that's my big problem with the whole thing," said Peggy P. Lewis '78, who lives in an apartment at Three Concord Avenue

Other local residents have complained that the city has not made its plans clear to them.

"It has not been basically well-expressed and that's my big problem with the whole thing," said Peggy P. Lewis '78, who lives in an apartment at Three Concord Avenue