WRENTHAM - Residents are urged to attend a public forum Thursday to help the town and consultants plan for development and traffic improvements along the South Street (Route 1A) corridor.

The forum begins at 7 p.m. at Fiske Public Library off Randall Road. The section of road being focused on for a master plan runs between Wampum Corner and the Interstate 495 ramps just before Wrentham Village Premium Outlets.

The session will include a project overview, and a presentation of conceptual ideas for infrastructure and physical changes to the corridor.

There also will be consideration of options for the reuse of the former 17-acre Marra property the town took for back taxes, evaluation of housing, and drafting of a conceptual master plan for future development. "Public input at this stage of the project is essential," Town Administrator Jack McFeeley said.

A large 40B affordable housing project being planned along the section of highway would be a 200-unit complex adjacent to Northland Farms nursery. Talk is the developers want to expand to the nursery land as well. A $50,000 state grant is paying for a team of planning and engineering consultants led by Concord Square Planning & Development and Morris Beacon Design, to develop the corridor plan. The plan is a followup to the town's master and housing plans developed in recent years.

In a separate initiative, Norfolk County has retained traffic engineer Jack Gillon to conduct a traffic study of Route 1A, including the corridor.

More information is online at concordsqdev.com and morrisbeacon.com.

The consultant teams are coordinating their work, and will both be in attendance at the public forum.

As part of its work, the teams are assessing zoning options, opportunities for housing or mixed use development, open space, and pedestrian improvements to the corridor.