PAWTUCKET — Earlier this year, Central Falls resident Roberto Garcia attended a meeting at which municipal officials talked about developing a plan for a renewed Broad Street, the throughway where he owns a health foods store, Tesana.

He was alarmed. “I wasn’t sure it was a good project,” he says.

Garcia and other business owners feared that the local governments were looking to push out independent stores in favor of larger chains and big box stores, like Wal-Mart and CVS.

He now believes that what he feared could not be farther from the truth.

At a meeting last night at the Blackstone Valley Visitor’s Center, the project that Garcia and others have watched evolve over the past year, known as the Broad Street Regeneration Initiative, was discussed by officials.

After months of one-on-one interviews with business owners and meetings in which public input was sought, the project today calls for a host of new initiatives to stimulate business growth, encourage youth involvement, and enhance safety along the street, which links the downtown areas of Pawtucket, Central Falls and Cumberland.

Officials from the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council and the three communities gave an overview of the plan’s major points, which must now be formally adopted by the city and town councils. About 40 people were in attendance.

The project, which was developed by the consulting firm the Maguire Group and the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, calls for six major tasks.

One such initiative calls for improving building facades through grants, low-interest business loans, and a set of guidelines for exterior business signs.

Another would seek to increase pedestrian traffic along the road by building simple amenities, such as outdoor seating, trash bins and community message boards. There would also be opportunities for local art groups to create public art and efforts at pushing for outdoor seating for local restaurants and new locations for public parks and plazas.

A third task calls for encouraging historic preservation. A fourth task would tackle the traffic and parking issues on the street by encouraging mass transit and biking or walking along the street. There are also plans to revise parking requirements.

Yet another task, community safety, centers around Jenks Park and making the Central Falls recreational area a safer place, as well as developing youth programs for gang avoidance.

To stimulate business growth, the plan calls for supporting a marketing effort for local businesses as well as reaching out to local banks to invest in the area.

After the meeting at the visitor’s center last night, Garcia said he heard things that made him hopeful, such as more policing, outdoor events at Jenks Park and better connection to public transportation.

A member of the Blackstone Valley Merchant’s Association (which formed initially out of concern for the Broad Street project), Garcia says the project has his support and that of the association’s 30 or so member businesses.

“I was impressed,” he said. “It will be good project.”

pmarcelo@projo.com