City Council Delays Paving Parking Lot

The Cambridge City Council has delayed until February its decision on a request from George Teso, director of traffic and parking, to spend $20,000 of city revenues to pave a Harvard-owned parking lot on Banks St.

Under the proposal, Harvard would lease the land to Cambridge for one dollar per year. The city in turn would bear construction costs and open the facility to neighborhood citizens.

Citing weather conditions which will prevent construction before spring, the council cancelled a hearing scheduled to follow its regular meeting last night at City Hall.

Opponents of the proposal welcomed the delay. "It's a ploy to give us time to fight this thing, and arouse the opposition of the citizens who will be most affected by it," councillor Saundra Graham said after the meeting.