By Patrick McGroarty
News Editor

The planning phase of a major city effort to redesign traffic flow and beautify the streetscape along Dorchester Avenue neared completion last week as residents worked with project engineers to narrow down the options for redesigning two of the busiest intersections along Dorchester's main thoroughfare.

A meeting last Thursday at the Vietnamese American Community Center in Fields Corner allowed residents to comment on a series of potential redesign schemes for the notoriously chaotic intersection at Freeport Street and Dorchester Avenue, and another intersection at Adams Street and Dorchester Avenue several blocks south. The productive two-hour meeting resulted in a clear preference to regulate traffic at Freeport Street by placing traffic lights on each corner. There was less of a consensus on several options to redesign the Adams Street intersection, though people did express an interest in shifting the location of the crosswalks at the pedestrian-heavy intersection to match up with street corners and in eliminating a traffic cut-through from Dorchester Avenue to Adams Street through "Hero Square."

Two proposals to address the infamous traffic free-for-all at Freeport Street and Dorchester Avenue by re-directing a portion of Freeport Street traffic onto Linden Street were met with almost unanimous disapproval by both occupants of narrow Linden Street and members of the wider community.

A number of concerns went beyond the obvious increase in traffic flow, to issues such as whether large tractor-trailers would be able to make turns onto Dorchester Avenue out of the narrow street. People were less interested in a major redesign at an intersection that several described as "bizarrely efficient" than they were in traffic lights to regulate the current flow.

"I'm hearing that the Linden Street option is not supported, so we'll try to move forward with that in mind," said Vineet Gupta of the city's department of transportation, one of the agencies working closely to advance the avenue project.At Adams Street, several plans that would streamline traffic flow by limiting turns vehicles would be allowed to make were presented. Attendees were receptive of the concept of limiting turning rights on some streets, but a consensus preference toward a specific plan did not emerge.

"I think people want to get through [the intersection] faster, as we heard," said Evelyn Darling, executive director of Fields Corner Main Streets. "It's like a four minute delay. It's the biggest bottle neck on the Avenue." Darling added that she would like to see the intersection made more amenable to pedestrians. "Right now take your life into your hands crossing the street. We want to see it be easier to navigate," said Darling.

"If there's going to be a change, people that are going to be affected have to make the decision for themselves," said Mike Mackan, a Lower Mills resident and member of the avenue project's task force.

Launched in March 2005, the avenue project was budgeted as a $5 million effort by several city agencies and community stakeholders to improve traffic flow along and the appearance of Dorchester Avenue. Planned improvements at Freeport and Adams Streets are two of the three intersections that have been identified for major redevelopment along the avenue; the third location is Andrew Square in South Boston. Five additional intersections along the four mile stretch of Dot Ave. that runs through Dorchester have been chosen for more modest repairs: Savin Hill Avenue, Park Street, Melville Avenue, and Lonsdale Street.

There will be three more public meetings before a final plan is completed in June: in April, plans for improvements at all three major intersections will be discussed; in May there will be a chance to contribute to a draft of the complete action plan; then in June there will be a final hearing to review that action plan.

"We want to leave the next meeting with a decision about where we want to go at all the intersections," said Gupta.

The plan completed in June represents "25 percent" of the specificity needed before a contractor can be hired to undertake the project. The additional work will be completed next fall by architects hired by the city, and the project will go out to bid in the spring of 2008.

"Hopefully we can get some dirt moving in the fall of 2008," said Jeremy Rosenberger, a community planner with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The plans discussed at last week's meeting can be viewed online at dotavenueproject.com.