Residents and businesses in the Boyle Street and McCauley neighbourhoods say a planned makeover for the area is a long time coming but the proposed design could use some adjustments.

The two central Edmonton communities are next in line for neighbourhood renewal — a program that rehabilitates roads and sidewalks, replaces street lights and adds missing sidewalk links.

Yasushi Ohki, a member of the McCauley community league who sits on the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues' planning and development committee, said he's looking forward to the upgrades.

"I'm super excited just because it becomes a pleasant place now to experience the street," Ohki said in an interview Tuesday.

The renewal area stretches from Jasper Avenue to 111th Avenue, and from parts of 84th Street in the east to 100th Street on the west side.

It does not include arterial roads like 95th and 97th streets.

The plan focuses on building designated lanes for active modes of transportation like cycling and rollerblading.

"Having a pleasant surface to actually skateboard on or bicycle ride on, that really makes a difference in those alternative modes of transportation," Ohki said.

The draft design, posted on the city's website, proposes turning some two-way streets such as 107A Avenue and 92nd Street into one-way traffic, allowing for designated bike lanes.

Ohki said some of the proposed one-way streets don't make sense to him.

"Those are the routes that we take to get onto the major arterial road, so to block them off as one-ways really creates both frustration and confusion," he said.

Audra Jones, supervisor of neighbourhoods, planning and design of the neighbourhood renewal program, said the draft design is based on feedback collected from residents and businesses.

It's also crafted with a number of city-building goals at the forefront, like the City Plan and safe mobility strategy, Jones said.

The city is collecting feedback through various means, including from an online survey available until March 12, and online community sessions until the beginning of March.

"We take that input but we also have a mandate to bring to life our City Plan and some of those strategic plans," Jones said.

The feedback allows for fine-tuning, she said..

"I wouldn't look at it as an opportunity for the community to vote on the different elements but we do welcome the feedback that each person can bring to the table," Jones said.

Jones said her teams will compile the feedback and release the final design this spring.

Little Italy straddles Boyle Street and McCauley. It's an area consistently booming with local businesses, but has also struggled with social disorder and unsightly properties.

Teresa Spinelli, president of the Italian Centre, said with many of the city's social agencies in the area, crime and social disorder are common.

Revitalizing the area, including revamping alleys and local parks, will help create a safer and more inviting environment, she said.

Spinelli said people who walk by Mary Burlie Park with children would be more comfortable if the park didn't have hills, hidden spaces and bushes.

The city generates funding for neighbourhood renewal by collecting two per cent of the annual property tax levy. A city spokesperson said the cost of renewal projects ranges from $20 million to $55 million and that the new infrastructure will be in place for 30 to 50 years.