RACINE - Mayor Gary Becker walked out of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center Wednesday night vowing to soon make subtle changes to the surrounding neighborhood.

During a community meeting, residents said they want the city to put up children-crossing signs near Marquette Park, look into a new drinking fountain for the park and make sure area stop signs are well-identified.

Those are three concerns that the mayor vowed to help residents with almost immediately, along with taking into consideration all of their feedback about larger area projects.

Those larger projects include the possibility of turning Marquette Street into a two-way street, future plans for the old Homeward Bound site and the Community Oriented Policing house on Hamilton Street. They are all issues the group of about 20 members of the community heatedly discussed with the mayor and a handful of other city officials.

Residents had many questions about the possibility of changing Marquette Street to a two-way street: Will the change increase traffic? Will it decrease the number of accidents? Will it slow traffic?

"The study will show it," Becker said as an answer to most of the questions from residents, who appeared to have mixed feelings about the proposed project.

The city finance committee is still considering the mayor's proposal for a traffic study of both Marquette Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, said Commissioner of Public Works Richard Jones after the meeting. The study is estimated to cost roughly $19,000, he said.

Another topic that garnered a lot of interest is the future of the old Homeward Bound site, which takes up the west side of the 1000 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The mayor's ideas included new single-family housing or a new city park, and he said he was willing to listen to more ideas.

Max Gordon was the first to bring forth a new idea and suggested the mayor consider a modern housing facility for seniors, an idea that was met with praise from many in the

audience.

Other residents suggested a splash pad or a water park, or a combination of single-family and senior housing.

Regardless of what happens to the property in the future, residents asked the mayor to maintain the property more than once a month, in an effort to visually improve the area.

That much the mayor promised the city could do, he told the audience.

Most of the discussion was about ideas rather than solidified plans, but the mayor did want to present one police plan that is already in progress.

The Police Department is planning to move the Robert Quintanilla COP house on Geneva Street to the 900 block of Hamilton Street, on the corner of Superior Street.

"It's the best idea I've heard," said Recquehl Nunn, 37, who lives on Sixth Street and is a former resident of LaSalle Street. "It's a mess."

Chief Wahlen said the COP house can help improve the area, but the house can't do it by itself. "It's a symbol to the Police Department's commitment to the area," Wahlen said. "But in order to make the house work, people need to communicate with the area police and with each other."

Besides just the COP house, the police will also be bringing in surveillance cameras to the area. And Chief Wahlen reminded the people in attendance that their feedback will help him determine where to place the cameras.

"If you are a part of neighborhood watch, you can help dictate where those cameras are," Wahlen said.

Levon Sims, 48, of 1232 Marquette St., was happy with the opportunity to meet with the mayor and discuss area issues, but she was a little disappointed with the turnout.

Instead of showing up for the meeting, people will end up complaining that they didn't have a say when the city does make changes later, she said.

While she was happy with the meeting, she hopes the mayor or city officials will present their plans to the public again before anything is finalized.