This image shows plans for the new Main Street, Saranac Avenue and Mirror Lake Drive intersection. (Photo provided)

LAKE PLACID — A second public meeting on upcoming upgrades to Main Street is happening this month.

At the meeting, which is slated to happen on March 18 over teleconferencing software GoToMeeting, residents will have the chance to ask questions about this more than $10 million project, and learn more about what the street is expected to look like once the two- to three-year construction period is over.

Construction on the project is expected to start soon, in the spring, so substantial changes to the project scope at this point seem unlikely. Mayor Craig Randall said ahead of the last public information session, in November, that substantial changes were unlikely. The village never hosted a full public hearing on this project to gather public input from the broader community, though it has culled input from a Main Street Task Force, a group of volunteers from different parts of the community who have been providing input on the project, as well as the Community Development Commission.

The Main Street streetscape and infrastructure improvement plan will change the aesthetics, water infrastructure, environmental impact, pedestrian experience and on-street parking availability of the Adirondacks’ busiest business district. Village officials have been planning this project for years, securing state grant funding and conducting other financial planning. Over the last few years, that planning has been supplemented by help from the Main Street Task Force.

As part of the project — which includes the section of Main Street between Saranac Avenue and the post office — old water pipes will be rebuilt, the storm drainage system along the street will be redesigned to better protect Mirror Lake from stormwater runoff, and the street’s look will change with new sidewalks, more visible crosswalks and green space.

Altogether, the street will lose three parking spaces. The north end of the street will lose 12 spaces, the center of the street will gain seven, and the south end will lose six. Eight spaces will be added to the municipal parking lots.

At the north end of the street, the intersection of Main Street, Saranac Avenue and Mirror Lake Drive will be altered in an effort to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety, plus make room for a new bioretention basin there to filter stormwater runoff before it enters Mirror Lake. The road will be regraded and widened at that intersection and the crosswalks will be moved to safer places.

This project is expected to last for at least two years, until fall 2023. No prolonged water shutoffs are expected. The project may require traffic to be reduced to one way, one lane at times. Traffic may be diverted onto Hillcrest Avenue or Old Military Road.

Construction work is expected to stop in July and August of each year, at the peak of the summer tourism season.

Randall has said that the project is about 50% funded by state grants. The rest is expected to be funded through a long-term, interest-free loan secured by the village through the Environmental Facilities Corporation of New York State and various village funds.

The upcoming information session on the Main Street project will be hosted by the Community Development Commission. To join, visit https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/157008421 at 5:30 p.m. on March 18. The meeting can also be accessed by phone by calling 1-408-650-312, access code 157-008-421.

The village plans to publish the presentation from the meeting on its website on March 19. A full copy of the Main Street presentation, as of this past November, is posted here:

MainStreetOverview 20201112