And while the new proposal (which was presented in only the most general terms) does address some issues of design and massing raised by neighbors, it does not begin to address an issue we have been trying to put on the table for three years: An academic center with classrooms, library and conference facilities, serving the largest department in the college, does not belong immediately adjacent to a residential neighborhood. We are concerned about the impact cars, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians will have on already-overcrowded streets and parking areas, particularly given the University's stated intention to use the building for Extension School classes in the evenings and conferences on weekends. Until the fundamental program is altered to reduce the impact of use of this building on the neighborhood, we will not be praising any architectural design.
Laura Roberts
June 5, 2000
The writer is a Cambridge city resident.