Community and Economic Development Authority Director Salvador Pina wants to study the possibility of making Main Street in downtown one-way traveling east and the riverfront Merchants Way one-way traveling west.

He says the traffic change would open up the Wareham River waterfront to downtown and allow a Merchants Way beautification project, similar to the project currently underway on Main Street.

"Money doesn't go where it's not pretty," said Pina. "Waterfront development is a huge asset because people like to be near the water."

The Main Street / Merchants Way concept is part of a larger Pina vision for downtown. Included in that larger vision are commuter rail, a bikepath, angled parking and a sidewalk on Merchants way for pedestrian traffic.

Pina has already started applying for grants to study the feasibility of a Main Street / Merchants Way reconfiguration.

One will help pay for a traffic study to see if the two streets can be turned into one-ways.

Another will help fund an architect's drawing of what a revitalized Merchants Way and Main Street would look like.

Anthi Frangiadis, president of the Wareham Village Association, said she wanted to see the results of the studies before commenting on one-ways. But, she said, waterfront development would definitely help revitalize downtown.

"I concur with the riverfront being an asset to downtown," said Frangiadis.

But, she added, "I would like to see the town provide more recreational use of the waterfront ... More recreational activity brings more activity downtown. More activity brings more people. More people brings more ... business and potentially more investment."