By Kimberly Geronimo

Week by week, east Broadway gets closer to receiving its long awaited makeover. Residents met with public officials and consultants at a community meeting on Feb. 13 to voice their suggestions and opinions on possible streetscape revisions to the long-underutilized district.

The idea to redesign Broadway was originally conceived under former mayor Michael Capuano’s administration in the 1990s but had floundered because of a lack of funding, according to Ward 1 Alderman William Roche. It had been in the planning process for about five years, he said. Finally, ‚ÄúMayor [Joseph A.] Curtatone made the commitment and has most of the funding‚Äù for a full-scale renovation, he said.

‚ÄúI’m excited it’s finally happening,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúIt’s important to the people in East Somerville that people are paying attention to us. It’s known as the forgotten part of the city and finally people are paying attention and East Somerville is being rejuvenated.‚Äù

The plan to redesign the stretch of Broadway running from Cross Street to the Boston city line is being developed through the combined efforts of the mayor’s office, Design Consultants, Pressley Associates, architect Kimo Griggs, and urban design consultant Paula Cortes, according to Lisa Lepore, Director of Transportation and Infrastructure from the Mayor’s office.

The street design will be funded by Community Development Block Grant Funds provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A $650,000 grant the city has applied for from HUD can be spent on the Broadway renovation because East Somerville has been designated as a revitalization area by the federal government, said Lepore. But the city will have to look for other resources to fund the actual construction, which will be a multimillion dollar endeavor, she said.

A joint presentation by DCI, Pressley Associates, and Griggs, described the project, which includes widening the sidewalks along east Broadway, ensuring there are curb cuts wherever the sidewalk intersects with the street, improving storefronts, landscaping, installing bike paths, making the road more pedestrian-friendly, and more.

The team presented four slightly different proposals for an improved Broadway. One left the road with the four lanes it has today (two lanes in each direction), while the others reduced it to a two lane street (one lane in each direction) with much wider sidewalks. There were also differences in the meridian and the shape of the street. In particular, the fourth proposal significantly increased the open space in front of the East Branch Somerville Public Library. All of the proposals are available to see at City Hall.

Others present at the meeting also seemed eager for a new and improved Broadway. Steven Chrobak, a nine month resident of Somerville and frequent pedestrian along Broadway, described his current commute along the road. ‚ÄúGoing from Sullivan to the park, it’s extremely hot – it’s such a wide street and the light reflects off the store fronts,‚Äù he said.

Carrie Dancy, executive director of East Somerville Main Streets, also said she was unsatisfied with the present state of Broadway. ‚ÄúCurrently there’s no space for people to gather so it’s impossible to build community,‚Äù she said. ‚ÄúThe sidewalks don’t really encourage people to get out. Broadway right now is a long strip without any points that people can identify with.‚Äù

An improved streetscape “will be something that unites the area and it will reinvigorate the commercial district,” she said.

She was not the only one ready for change. Broadway is “a little dated, aesthetically it would be an improvement,” said Stephen Martorano, a resident since 1996. He said he was pleased with the plans, but as a driver along Broadway, he did have some reservations about increased traffic, especially with the three proposals that reduced the road to two lanes only.

Antonio Candido, a resident since 1974, shared Martorano’s concern. ‚ÄúOne lane [in each direction] is ridiculous, it’s just going to build up traffic more and more,‚Äù he said.

Roche, however, said he was not too worried about this problem. ‚ÄúThe rest of the entire city has one lane streets – from here to the top of Winter Hill is the only area where we have two lanes,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúSo I think people lose track of the idea that one lane isn’t so bad because they’re so used to two lanes. One lane slows traffic down, you can’t double park, and it discourages cut through traffic,‚Äù he said.

Roche was one of several to favor the fourth proposal with increased open space along the library. “I like the wider sidewalks, the emphasis on open spaces, area in front of the library, and one lane,” he said.

Marylin Eastwood, the head of the east branch of the Somerville Public Library, also preferred that proposal. “It makes for a nice community space in front of the library,” she said. She also suggested building a glassed-in cafe in front of the library where people would eat and relax.

Other residents proposed putting fountains along the road and installing the street lights on the meridian so they would not clutter the sidewalks. Consultants and city officials said they hold these meetings to gather input from residents about the project. The next community meeting will be in March, they said.