Harvard plans to redo Allston sidewalk as promised long ago

Harvard University plans to make over a weed-strewn sidewalk pocked with ditches in Allston after Labor Day, a decade after the school promised that it would spruce up the area as the campus expanded across the Charles River.

The university will fix the sidewalk on the eastern side of North Harvard Street from the river to Barry's Corner, where North Harvard Street intersects with Western Avenue. It will also replace a rusty chain-link fence that has become an eyesore with a new one, and replace the sidewalk on the northern side of Western Avenue.

In recent months, Allston residents have complained about the long delay in the work as Harvard continued with plans to build a science complex, student housing, and other facilities in the neighborhood. Harvard, like many area universities, has been in the midst of a building boom and has tussled with residents over various issues.

"We were not trying to get out of the work; we were just trying to do a more expansive project," said Kathy Spiegelman, chief planner of the university's Allston Development Group. "We thought we had a reason to delay it, but we don't want it to become a point of contention."

The university expects the city to give the go-ahead on the sidewalk work next week, pending approval of a traffic management plan, Spiegelman said. Harvard could then begin work in the first two weeks of September and wrap up most of the beautification in the fall.

The impending sidewalk work helped ease the concerns of many Allston residents, who worried that the university would continue to neglect neighborhood concerns as it moved ahead with its 50-year expansion plan.

"Better late than never," said Brent Whelan, an Allston resident for nearly 30 years who serves on a community task force studying Harvard's plans.

Harry Mattison, also a member of the task force, said that as Harvard continues to expand, it should consider donating millions of dollars to a community foundation so residents can decide for themselves how the university can best help the neighborhood. Some possibilities include creating a public park, a community center with a gym, or classrooms for tutoring residents in English.

"It's important to create something enduring that won't be subjected to the vagrancies of forces beyond our control," Mattison said. "You don't have to worry about it being 10 years later and trying to chase the thing down."

The sidewalk renovations, Spiegelman said, may have to be redone in future years as the university, which anticipates city approval for its science complex this fall, rolls out other improvements such as bike lanes.

Raymond Mellone, chairman of the community task force, said that now that the sidewalk issue has been put to rest, it's time to move on to the more significant matter of planning for the science complex.

"This is a retroactive kind of blip that doesn't amount to a hill of beans," Mellone said.

Tracy Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com.