WINDHAM — Planners want to know if residents would prefer a walkable town center and relocated Route 111.

Residents, business owners and commuters can pitch their ideas as they learn about the Route 111 Corridor and Wall Street Extension Study at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Searles School at 3 Chapel Road.

The study's central question is residents' goal for their town center, said Cliff Sinnott, executive director of the Rockingham Planning Commission.

The town center is the North Lowell Road area, where Route 111 separates Town Hall and the town administration building from the Fellows Road municipal complex.

The public's thoughts will play an important role on the study. "It's going to determine the direction the study takes and what we consider to be the acceptable alternatives," Sinnott said.

The study is concerned only with ideas at this point and defining them, not planning or design work. Construction would require public hearings and a means to fund the projects.

Those who attend the forum can expect an introduction to three projects.

They are an extension of Wall Street to become a connector to North Lowell Road; a study of Route 111 between South Lowell Street and Interstate 93; and a potential future relocation of Route 111 around a new village center.

The center would include shops, residences, offices and walking paths. One idea would relocate Route 111 beyond the library and fire station.

The Department of Transportation agreed to fund the corridor study — but not the construction — several years ago. They did so after local officials worried that a widened I-93 and reconfigured Exit 3 would draw lots of traffic to Route 111. The engineering firm of McFarland Johnson has been hired by the RPC to help carry out the corridor study. A 12-member local Project Advisory Committee is guiding the project.

Laura Scott, the Windham community development director, said anyone who wants "to find out what is being looked at to create a village center and to divert traffic" should attend the forum.

ÔÇæÔÇæÔÇæ

Join the discussion. To comment on stories and see what others are saying, log on to eagletribune.com.