About 30 residents from Newton and surrounding areas gathered for a public hearing at the Newton Lower Falls Community Center on Wednesday night to learn of plans and voice concerns about a proposal to repair the Riverside Park Pedestrian Bridge.

The bridge has been closed since 2003 and most attendees at the hearing, given by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, were receptive to the proposal about its repair.

But Richard MacBride, a longtime resident of Auburndale, felt the repair isn’t enough, echoing the concern of other attendees who wanted to know the repair’s impact on the surrounding areas.

“It doesn’t go far enough. There is no conversation between agencies to enhance the overall [setting],” he said to a reporter after the meeting.

The bridge’s repair falls under the auspices of the Accelerated Bridge Program (ABP) and was authorized by Gov. Deval Patrick in the Acts of 2008, Chapter 233. It will cost $2.9 billion for the ABP to improve bridges in the state by 2016, according to the presentation.

Gregory Imbaro, project manager for Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, spoke about the logistics of this program for the Riverside Park Pedestrian Bridge and fielded questions from residents.

“A lot of users go under and around these bridges,” Imbaro said, speaking of canoes and kayaks. The repair will improve both pedestrian accessibility and public safety, according to documentation in the presentation given by Imbaro.

According to Tracy Osimboni, project manager for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division, rehabilitation of the Riverside Park bridge will cost $1.045 million.

Imbaro said the design phase will be completed by the end of the summer and that construction will last one year.

He said there are several components of the Riverside Park bridge rehabilitation project. These include structural repairs to the bridge, which will be fixed on land, as well as repair to the western abutment, and reinstatement of path access, vegetation and wildlife.

Vegetation must be cleared to allow access for trucks and a crane to remove the bridge, which will be severed, and pieces moved onto land for repair.

Officials deemed it safer to conduct repair on land than over water, to prevent shedding lead into the river. Elements include the timber deck, steel floor beams, steel trusses, and pipe railings, Imbaro said.

Fixing the Weston side bridge abutment, which has a hole, is a major component. A path will be recreated to the parking lot, and storm water drainage will be improved, among other developments.

Nancy Finn, a lifetime resident of Newton Lower Falls, raised concern over “negative activity” conducted in the areas surrounding the bridge. Imbaro and Osimboni said after the project has completed and full access is restored, high visitation will decrease negative activity.

When the Riverside Park bridge project is completed, it will be maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Imbaro said.

Although the ABP complies with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, Imbaro said that persons in wheelchairs will not be able to get off the Newton side of the bridge when the Riverside Park bridge is completed. He hopes accessibility will be further extended.

Imbaro said he expects the bridge to last 100 years after these repairs.

Jim Palmer, president of the Friends of the Charles River Pedestrian Bridges, told speakers that he is satisfied with the plan and is “looking forward to seeing when the bridge is done.”

For more information on the Accelerated Bridge Program, visit www.mass.gov/massdot/charlesriverbridges.