Vassar Street Revamp

The detour signs are gone. Now pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles can navigate much of Vassar Street with remarkable ease. Credit for transforming it from an industrial throughway to a welcoming city street goes to the Vassar Streetscape project, a partnership between MIT and the City of Cambridge. The project's first phase, which covered Vassar from Main Street to Massachusetts Avenue, was largely completed last fall and will be finished in May.

"We wanted to give you the impression that you're on the MIT campus, but still within the city," says Talitha Fabricius, senior project manager and campus landscape architect. Instead of the brick and concrete usually used on Cambridge city streets, Vassar got nontraditional materials. The sidewalk was constructed from blocks called pavers, which are made from a blend of concrete and stone that is durable and decorative. Then the street was adorned with columnar gingko trees and contemporary street lamps. These changes echo the design of other parts of campus; for example, the streetlights match the style of the light fixtures in the new Stata Center.

Pedestrians and cyclists will find a new off-road bicycle track. Its meanderings around crosswalks and driveways are dotted with solar-powered lights that glow at night. The project also installed bollards-semicircular posts that prevent cars from encroaching on the sidewalk. For a total of $5 million, this transportation oasis now extends for about half a kilometer.

The project's second phase will address the stretch of Vassar from Massachusetts Avenue to Audrey Street, which will mirror the completed section. Work is set to begin in 2005.