WATERVILLE -- The public on Wednesday will have a chance to give input on a proposed pedestrian connector from the Hathaway Creative Center to downtown.

A multiuse trail system along the Kennebec River also will be discussed and the two projects could overlap, City Engineer Greg Brown said.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at The Center Downtown.

The Hathaway Creative Center is being developed in the former shirt factory on Water Street. It will include retail and commercial ventures, as well as office and living space.

Two adjacent factory buildings also would be developed in the Lockwood Mill complex.

Rhode Island developer Paul Boghossian bought the Hathaway building from the city with the stipulation that the city fund a pedestrian connector study; he said his project depends on easy and convenient access from the mill complex to downtown. Boghossian, a Colby College graduate, says that in order for downtown revitalization to occur, people must be living and working there.

Possibilities for a pedestrian connector include a walkway above the road or at street level or a tunnel under the road, in the area where Main Street connects with Water Street.

"Paul wants his development to feel that it's part of the downtown," City Planner Ann Beverage said Monday.

The state Department of Transportation issued the city a $20,000 grant for the pedestrian connector study and the city pitched in $5,000.

Wilbur Smith Associates, an engineering, planning and economist firm, is conducting the study and a public meeting is required as part of that study.

Thomas Errico, project manager for Wilbur Smith, will discuss the study Wednesday night and ask the public to give input. The process will involve breaking into small groups, according to Brown and Beverage.

"We need a room full of participants to help us define the correct course of action here, and public participation is essential," Brown said.

Errico will talk about legal requirements and physical constraints associated with a pedestrian connector. Brown said traffic engineers for the Lockwood Mill complex may attend, and he encourages anyone interested in traffic patterns to attend.

"Whatever solution is eventually supported at that location must allow flexibility for future changes in the overall traffic patterns of the city," he said.

Beverage said members of Kennebec Messalonskee Trails who are developing a multiuse trail system through Waterville and surrounding towns also likely will attend.

"I suspect we will have people here who are trail supporters and people from the South End Neighborhood Association," she said.

Wilbur Smith officials will incorporate information gathered at Wednesday's meeting into a presentation before the council to be given sometime this summer, according to Brown. Councilors would make the ultimate decision on a connector/trail once they are defined, and then the city would pursue funding.

"This is a pedestrian connector so there are grants available from DOT and others," Brown said.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com