The next phase of the downtown "Streetscape" beautification project is designed to slow down traffic where Main Street meets Sandwich Road, and will likely revamp the entrances to Cumberland Farms and Hess.

"We had some great assistance from the businessfolk," Community and Economic Development Authority (CEDA) Director Salvador Pina told residents and business owners gathered for a Dec. 20 hearing.

CEDA recently completed the first phase of the project, which updated the curbing, sidewalks, street lights, and signs on Main Street between Center Street and the Post Office.

The current $700,000 design for the second phase -- which is not yet set in stone -- will cover Center Street to the Narrows Bridge.

The plan includes the extension of a sidewalk in front of Cumberland Farms, where there is currently no curbing, and will add a sidewalk adjacent to Hess, along the access road that connects Main Street to Merchants Way.

That access road will no longer be able to be entered from Merchants Way, in an effort to improve traffic flow.

A crosswalk will be added in front of M&D Bait & Tackle, which will also lose its curb cuts to make way for a sidewalk. The sidewalk will continue as Main Street bears to the left toward the Narrows Bridge.

A bump-out -- curbing that extends into the road -- featuring landscaping will be added near the entrance to Merchants Way, as well as across the street just before the bridge. A new crosswalk will be added to assist pedestrians heading to Besse Park.

A bump-out will also be added near the entrance of Tobey Hospital, in an effort to slow traffic down for pedestrian safety.

Ever have a tough time making a turn at the stop sign on lower Main Street, next to Besse Park? That intersection will get updated, for both traffic flow and pedestrian safety. Engineers have designed a 90-degree right-hand turn from lower Main Street toward Sandwich Road.

Street lights will be installed on the bump-outs in the area across from the entrance to Merchants Way, which is largely unlit, currently.

"A good streetscape ... enhances pedestrian use, it gives us a sense of place," said Bill Madden of G.A.F. Engineering, which designed the project. "We tried to create an entrance to the community."

Other enhancements include an area large enough for cars towing small boats to pull over near the M&D Bait & Tackle, Cumberland Farm's, and Hess.

Echoing concerns expressed during the first phase of the project, attendees worried about how the bump-outs would hinder traffic flow, especially for emergency vehicles.

Barbara Thomas of M&D Bait & Tackle wondered if it would be difficult for fire trucks to get by if Main Street heading toward the Sandwich Road traffic light is narrowed by bump-outs.

Madden explained that the current lanes are wider than most roads, and with the bump-outs, cars will be able to pull close to the curbs to make way for emergency vehicles down the middle of the road.

Harbormaster Garry Buckminster worried about how the bump-out near the entrance to Tobey Hospital might affect emergency vehicles, and vehicles towing large boats down Main Street to Zecco Marina on Warr Avenue.

"I feel that we're restricting a high-traffic center," he said.

Pina noted that he would meet with local emergency officials to hear any concerns, and assured attendees: "No one here is trying to impede traffic. We're trying to beautify an area and make it safe for pedestrians."

Stormwater runoff at that end of downtown, which can pollutes the adjacent Agawam River, will also be addressed as streetscape improvements begin. CEDA and Conservation Agent Dave Pichette secured a $20,000 grant from the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program to fund improvements.

The original plan for the second Streetscape phase was to take the project from the area of the Post Office to Sawyer Street, across from the Wareham Fire Station, but CEDA was concerned that adding enhanced street lighting to that end of Main Street would be difficult, due to utility poles, and instead opted to hold off on that phase of the project to explore the cost of burying the utilities.

Construction on the second phase may begin as early as April, 2013. Pina stressed that the design is not finalized, and will accept written comments at the CEDA office, 54 Marion Road, Wareham, 02571.

"I take everybody's comments seriously," Pina said. "This is a public process."

Want to take a closer look at the plans? Click the link below to download a PDF.