Welcome to the Harvard University Transportation Strategic Plan Information Gateway. This resource provides information about the University's Transportation Strategic Plan and its process.

As you may know, Harvard is undertaking development of substantial new academic facilities during the next few years. These plans are the culmination of efforts over the past decade to increase academic resources in nearly every school.

To maintain excellence in teaching and research, the University strives to create an environment that is dynamic and highly adaptive. In its work, the University must not only address new areas of inquiry, but also be responsive to the global teaching and research environment. These requirements provide impetus for hiring faculty and staff, and for undertaking capital projects that support teaching and research initiatives.

As Harvard's schools grow over the next decade, much of the new construction will take place on campus land that is presently used for parking. This increased development poses some difficult and competing challenges for transportation and parking. Unfortunately, Harvard does not have enough parking now to meet the needs of our faculty and staff. In short, parking has become a key planning element in support of the overall academic development programs of the schools.

For some time we have been working on solutions to these challenges. Our planning process has been enhanced through extensive discussions and consultation with many members of the Harvard community, including the Faculty Council, Deans, faculty members with economic and transportation systems expertise, and more than 20 discussion groups across the campus. This ongoing dialogue has been enormously helpful in creating a plan that will meet these objectives.

In brief, the current plans are to build several new underground garages that will replace existing parking spaces lost to new academic and research buildings. To manage this additional growth, we are expanding University transportation services and increasing efforts to make public transportation services more convenient and less expensive.

The following transcripts and links highlight some of the initiatives completed to date by the Transportation Working Group to address the growth issues while soliciting help and support from the entire Harvard community.

Included on this web site are:

Transportation Planning Communication to FAS Faculty

The Transportation Planning communication was prepared by Sally Zeckhauser, Vice President for Administration and Thomas Vautin, Associate Vice President for Facilities and Environmental Services to update faculty on the transportation strategic plan initiative.

Campus Development and the Impact on Campus Transportation Resources Presentation

This presentation is a summary of several presentations given by Thomas Vautin to various University audiences, including Deans, Vice Presidents, and faculty members and administrators. This version was given to a number of Administrative Deans in December 2001.

The Challenge of Parking Briefing

The Challenge of Parking Briefing was prepared by the University's Transportation Services Department for President Lawrence Summers. It was intended to be an orientation to the University's parking and transportation challenges as they relate to the University's academic planning and growth. The briefing was presented in July 2001.

Transportation Services is committed to expanding transportation resources to accommodate and support the future growth of Harvard University. We hope you find this information useful and enlightening as we embark on this period of academic growth together.

Please let us know your thoughts and suggestions contacting us at:

Portable Document Formats (PDF)

Download a PDF version of the Presentations/Briefings

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