BY ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

POTSDAM — Village residents and stakeholders will have one more chance to offer up ideas, concepts, requests and concerns regarding the village’s planned multi-million dollar downtown rehabilitation.

The Village of Potsdam has scheduled its final public design workshop for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) funded Downtown Streetscape Enhancement and Riverwalk Project on Thursday, Aug. 3, from 6-8 p.m. in the Community Room above the Village Police Station, 2 Park St. The Community Room is accessible for persons with disabilities.

The $4.3 million Downtown Streetscape and Riverwalk Trail Project is funded through the Department of State and is part of the village’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative award the village received in 2019.

The first section of the Downtown Riverwalk Trail through Garner Park on Raymond Street was completed in the fall of 2021. Grant funds from the Department of State’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program funded through the NYS Environmental Protection Fund were used to undertake the first phase of the Riverwalk Trail.

Once complete, the project will develop a multi-modal riverwalk trail that will provide greater public access to the Raquette River shoreline.

Planned improvements include new sidewalks and curbs, decorative pavements and striping, ADA and crosswalk improvements, art in the landscape, roadway resurfacing, green stormwater infrastructure, street tree plantings, signage and way finding, streetscape furnishings and bike and pedestrian facilities.

After the conclusion of the Aug. 3 public workshop, design work and permitting is expected to roll out by fall, project bidding and contract approvals are slated for winter and spring, and finally construction will begin sometime in next year.

The village’s DRI award is supporting extensive project work in the community and among a local businesses and non-profits including an expansion of the Potsdam Food Co-op, a community skate and art park, and expansions and rehab work of the North Country Children’s Museum, North Country Arts Center, Market Square Mall, and Roxy Theater.

The state’s DRI program redirects millions of taxpayer dollars each year to single communities in various regions of the state through a competitive process some detractors have referred to as the “Hunger Games.”

Most recently in St. Lawrence County, Massena was named the recipient of a DRI award in 2021.

The DRI program connects various state approved projects in the recipient communities with specific state agencies and funding streams, often with local match funding match and public engagement requirements.

Potsdam has sponsored three public design workshops thus far seeking public input in the design process for the Streetscape Enhancement and Riverwalk Trail project including a meeting to solicit input from downtown business and property owners, a second workshop geared toward community residents and most recently, a third at Potsdam SummerFest.

Potsdam’s design consulting team from LaBella Associates and CLA Sites are collecting comments from residents, business owners and property owners and will use them to inform the draft for the project’s final design.

Residents of the Village and interested parties are encouraged to attend this final design workshop to learn more about the proposed project design and take advantage of the opportunity to provide comments to the Village and its design team, a press release from the village said.

The concept plans for the Downtown Streetscape Enhancement and the Riverwalk Trail are also available for the public to view and offer comments. The plans are on display in the Civic Center Board Room. Written comments will be accepted until Aug. 8.

For more information contact Fred Hanss, Director of the Village of Potsdam Planning and Development Office at fhanss@vi.potsdam.ny.us or (315) 265-1670.