However, Culver said he thinks closing the street to through traffic would probably be beneficial to the Agassiz neighborhood, which Oxford Street bisects north of the Science Center.

"My sense is that it's been a concern for some time--the amount of traffic that does use Oxford St.," Culver said.

But neighborhood residents are also concerned about the possible loss of metered parking spaces and increased traffic on Mass. Ave. and Beacon St. that would result from a permanent closing.

Power said neither Harvard nor the city of Cambridge has taken a position on the idea yet.

Power said that representatives from Harvard Law School, Harvard Planning and Real Estate, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Design and other University bodies would meet in the next month to determine Harvard's position.

"We should have a better idea of the University's stance around Commencement," she said.

Culver, who acts as a liaison between the University and the city, said officials from Community Development, the Department of Traffic and Parking, the Fire Department, the Department of Public Works, and other city departments would have to be consulted before a plan could be put into place.