The downtown portion of Main Street, Lake Placid, is seen in June 2020. (Enterprise photo — Elizabeth Izzo)

LAKE PLACID — Village officials recently published a request for proposals seeking contractors to work on a large-scale Main Street overhaul.

If the village Board of Trustees chooses to award the $8 million project shortly after the bidding period closes on Aug. 27, the project could move into the construction phase as soon as late September, according to Mayor Craig Randall.

The project would rebuild old water pipes so they can support increased use, rebuild the storm drainage system to better protect Mirror Lake from road salt runoff, and revamp the street’s look with new sidewalks, more visible crosswalks and green space.

More specific plans include installing bioretention basins to curb road salt runoff into Mirror Lake, reconfiguring the Saranac Avenue-Main Street-Mirror Lake Drive intersection, installing tubing that could accommodate broadband internet cables, installing curb bump-outs and landscaping, and replacing the existing sidewalk. New sculptures may be installed, too, but that’s not included in the village’s requested contract work.

The village has submitted its plans to the state Department of Transportation and is currently waiting for a final work permit, Randall said.

The goal, according to Randall, is to have most of these improvements out of the way by the start of the 2023 World University Games, an event that’s expected to bring upward of 2,500 student-athletes to Lake Placid.

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Public input

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This streetscape and infrastructure improvement plan will change the aesthetics, water infrastructure, environmental impact, pedestrian experience and on-street parking availability of this region’s busiest business district. But the project has not yet been brought to the broader community for public input — though a Main Street task force was formed last year to provide feedback throughout the planning process, which has been ongoing for years. The task force had 15 members when it was formed and included business owners and managers, village officials, the local school superintendent, residents and others.

A public information session on the project was planned in late March, but the spread of the novel coronavirus threw a wrench in the village’s plans. At some point in the future, Randall said he plans to host a “visual presentation” to showcase the plans and conceptual designs to the community, but he said a public hearing isn’t required for this project.

Randall has made a distinction between a “public hearing” and a “public information session” on this project. A public information session, which the village had planned to host for months prior to the pandemic, would largely be a presentation where village officials would answer questions. Comments would be accepted, but input wouldn’t be the primary purpose.

After the plans are presented, Randall said, “I don’t think you’ll see anything substantially change.” He added that he feels the task force has worked hard over the past few months to address any issues that have arisen.

At a board meeting on Monday, Randall hailed the project as a “big step forward for this community.”

“Honestly, we’ve learned to get this project done because there’s others coming,” said trustee Art Devlin.

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Concerns

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When early drafts of the project plans came to light earlier this year, business owners’ main point of contention was the removal of on-street parking spaces, and what they saw as a lack of focus on adding more. Some business owners have also shared concerns about how the construction may deter visitors during the busy summer tourism season, and shared concerns about how the planning process unfolded, including what they saw as a lack of public input.

In an effort to address the parking concern, a subcommittee of the Main Street task force was created a few months ago to explore ways that the number of parking spaces at the upper municipal lot across from NBT Bank could be expanded. Their discussions resulted in the creation of a design for a parking deck. If it’s ultimately built, Randall estimated the deck could add 100 parking spaces — though he said there’s more design work still to be done. This project would be separate from the Main Street upgrades.

To curb the impact on businesses during the summertime, when tourism to the area generally swells to its highest level, the village has built into its request for proposals a request that the chosen contractor halt work during the months of July and August and return the street to two-way traffic.

Bids for this work, which is largely state-funded, are being accepted until 11 a.m. on Aug. 27. A pre-bid meeting for contractors interested in submitting a bid is being held on Aug. 5. Work is expected to take at least two years, and at times reduce Main Street to one lane.