Because one of the two major options for the Allston acreage involves creating a major science research park—meaning some Faculty of Arts and Sciences science departments would be on different sides of the river—science faculty members are particularly concerned about having good transportation options.

“For us, transportation in Allston is less a fear of convenience and more a fear of being separated from the students,” Jacobsen says. “It would be a shame if our undergraduates were sequestered from the research activity, because it is one of the most outstanding parts of Harvard.”

Having logged many hours and many miles riding shuttles to the medical school in Boston, many Harvard scientists are wary of more time-consuming commutes.

“We have shuttle buses to the medical school, but they are slow and generally unpleasant,” Jacobsen says. “And with only a few tiny bridges connecting Cambridge to Allston that already have bottleneck traffic, we are looking for better solutions [than] shuttle buses for Allston.” For the Moment

Even if the shuttle service is not the most efficient way to go, most everyone agrees that more—and better—shuttle bus service would be a good thing thing for the short term.

At the moment, the University’s transportation team is working to improve shuttle routes between Cambridge and the satellite campuses, according to Director of Transportation John Nolan.

Every 15 minutes, the MBTA’s number 66 bus leaves Harvard Square and heads into Allston—a the only mass-transit option that leads into the new campus.

If not ideal, with long waits and large rush-hour crowds, the bus at least pre-existing and cheap, with a 75-cent fare.

Harvard is currently trying to make public transit like the number 66 bus more accessible to faculty, staff and students—including investigating a program that would allow University commuters to use their ID cards to pay for subway and bus fares, Nolan says.

“There are a lot of colleges across the country that have this type of program,” Nolan says. “Once the technology is available with the MBTA, this is something we would like to talk to them about.”

Amid all of the ambitious and costly options dreamed up by faculty and architects, Spiegelman says that for now the cheapest and potentially fastest way to travel between campuses may be good old fashioned walking.

To get people on their feet, the University will need to spruce up the route between and Cambridge and Allston, Spiegelman says. “We’re trying to improve the experience of travel,” she adds.

“JFK street is OK, but once you hit the bridge, its not very accommodating, there’s nothing very interesting or inviting or nurturing about it,” she says waving to a colorful cartoonish oversized map of Allston that sits in her Holoyoke Center office.

“It feels like you’re walking in Neverneverland,” she says describing the unappealing walk past the athletics fields and the Business School.

Looking to brighten the walk into Allston, Spiegelman points to landscaping and street repairs along North Harvard Street.