MAIN STREET PROJECT FAQ

The Main Street Project's Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated: October 31st 2006

FAQ stands for "frequently asked questions" and below you can find some of the most common questions brought to the project throughout construction. You can find paper copies of our FAQ distributed around the Village, but as construction goes on so do the questions! The electronic versions of the FAQ available here and on our blog will be the best way to stay abreast of what people are asking to the MSP. If you cannot find your question below then feel free to contact the project! Onward!

Will the trees removed from Main Street be replanted? YES! All the trees removed from Main Street as a part of construction will be replanted with new and well-established street trees. The new species include Japanese Elms, Black Gums, Crabapples, and Hedge Maples to name a few.

How far are the sidewalks going during this phase of the project? New/refurbished sidewalks will run from the Post Office all the way to the Fairgrounds, skipping a small section between the Village Office and library, on the south side of Main Street. On the north side of Main Street, sidewalks will run from Ron Don's to the Masonic Temple.

What will happen to the section of Old Main Street between the traffic island and Ron Don's? It will remain open to traffic, requiring a slight right turn to enter.

Where are the engraved bricks going to be placed? Both engraved and blank bricks will be installed in arch-shaped patches within the new concrete sidewalks. Brick patches will be inserted in various locations within the Village core running from Word of Mouth Catering to the Masonic Temple.

Where will the streetlights go? The bases and wiring for 42 streetlights are going in as a part of this phase of construction. The streetlights bases are concentrated within the Village's downtown, running from the Post Office to the library. Additional fundraising will be required to purchase and install the lights.

What is happening by the bank? Work in front of the bank involves moving the Union Street stop sing closer to Main Street for higher visibility and moving the curb locations further out into the street to improve pedestrain access and create a tree-lined community plaza with benches. Below you can find a sketch of the completed area drawn by MSP Volunteers Paula Horrigan and Rob Cassetti.

Is there enough money to finish all the work currently happening on Main Street? YES! All the activity happening on Main Street right now has been bought and paid for beforehand. No sidewalks will be left unfilled or streets left unpaved due to funds running out because that money has already been spent to guarantee that those streets and sidewalks be completed.

Then what is all the talk about fundraising about? The MSP has begun to draft and develop fundraising techniques to acquire more funds for future construction not included as a part of this current work. Any funds acquired now will be saved to fund future projects like the installation of streetlights and/or further extension of the sidewalks, for example.

Why were all the sidewalks ripped up at the same time? Contractors opened up all the sidewalks at the same time in order to keep the project on schedule and to make it easier for crews to access the utility lines below. Since the sidewalk work involves not only pouring new sidewalks, but also refurbishing the utility lines below, it would take too long to do the work in sections. By opening up the entire length of the sidewalks, one team can come and lay down utility lines followed by a curbing team that lays down new curb then followed by a sidewalk team that pours the new sidewalks and finishes the job.

Does that mean the project is behind schedule? Economy Paving and our engineering firm, C & S Engineers, admit that some work days have been lost to the weather (According to the North East Regional Climate Center at Cornell University this has been the rainiest on record!) and to large events like the Grassroots festival. However, due to overtime and efforts like the aforementioned sidewalks decision, the contractors have made up for lost time. The project still looks to be completed somewhere between October 22nd 2006 and October 31st 2006.

I saw a crew working at 6:00pm and/or on a Sunday afternoon. What is that all about? Economy Paving and all its subcontractors hold to a Monday-Friday 7:00am-4:30pm workday. However, work can continue past those hours if crews feel it is necessary to keep the project on schedule, it does not exceed the allotment of overtime hours, and if they cleared the request with the superintendent and the Village. An economy paving supervisor is always on site whenever a crew is present. Economy Paving DOES NOT intend to make afterhours/weekend work a regular feature of the project.

Will there be construction in residential areas? Not in this phase of the project. The overall, ideal plans for Main Street have work running between each end of the Village. The overall plans also call for sidewalk extensions into some of the residential streets (Lake Street, Truman Street, South Street, etc.),however, the current construction focuses on the downtown core. As future funds come into the project, the MSP and Village can consider how to approach completion of the additional phases.

I am a business/home/property owner in the Village. Can I have the contractors do some minor work for me (repave my driveway, fill in a pothole,etc.) while they are in town? Property owners can approach the MSP with requests to take advantage of all the construction crews in town and have small, private work done. However, the MSP can only act as an intermediary and will get any interested citizen(s) in touch with Economy Paving. Any such work is not a part of the project and must be covered in full by the private land owner. Property owners should also understand that Economy Paving is a large company that only hires unionized workers and pays a prevailing wage. Hence, their prices reflect the kind of million dollar construction project they are accustomed to and might be out of the range of a home/small-business owner.

Can I still buy an engraved brick? YES! The MSP is currently taking orders for the second wave of brick orders to be installed in the spring/summer of 2007. Order forms are available at this website and the deadline for the second wave bricks orders is December 31st, 2006.

What is happening by the Masonic Temple? The area in front of the Masonic Temple will become a small civic plaza by the end of construction. The two shrub/trees in front of the temple were removed in order to grant crews easy access to that area. Those trees will be replaced and the saplings will become the focus of two grassy shoulders that will flank the sides of the building and the edges of the plaza.

I thought the civic plaza was going down by the bank. What gives? By the end of construction Trumansburg will have gained two new community gathering spaces, one by the bank and the other by the Masonic Temple.

I read the Main Street Report in The Trumansburg Free Press and found the information in it to be out of date or covering an event that already happened. What gives? The Main Street Report in The Trumansburg Free Press represents that best and most current information the project had available at deadline time. Please understand that the Main Street Report is a bi-weekly column in a weekly paper, which means that it has to cover an entire month's worth of work and updates in just two monthly apperances! A lot can happen between the article's submission (usually the weekend before it is printed) and the time it hits newstands. The MSP encourages residents to keep turning to The Trumansburg Free Press for information about the construction and everything else happeing in Trumansburg, but also encourages residents to use other MSP Communication Pathways to get informed.

Communication Pathways? What are those? The MSP Communication Pathways are the ways to get in touch with the MSP. They have been public since before the start of construction, but in case you missed them... Phone: 387-4471 E-mail: tburgmainst@fltg.net

When will the new trees on Main Street be planted? The MSP hopes to have as many tree saplings in as possible by the end of construction. However, some species benefit from a spring planting and will be left of till the spring. All the replacement trees have been bought and paid for and will be planted either this fall and/or spring 2007.

Will all of Main Street be repaved? No, only the blacktop that was ripped up as a part of construction will be refurbished.

Why are the contractors leaving wheelchair ramps on sidewalk curbs for last? The conrete that goes into the actual sloped part of a sidewalk ramp will be colored and marked off to indicate that this is an inclinded plane designed for those with limited mobility. Crews are leaving those for last as they are small sections requiring extensive detail work.

It is getting cold out. Are they really going to be done by October 31st 2006? Economy Paving and the Village have not abandoned the planned October 31st completion date. While the schedule remains tight and has little room for any serious delays, construction teams remain confident the project will be done by October 31st 2006.

It is October 31st 2006 and crews are still out there. What happened to the schedule? The MSP and Village learn about project progress from Economy Paving at bi-weekly construction meetings held every other Thursday. The meeting before the Halloween completion date was held on October 26th 2006. At that meeting Economy Paving remained confident that with good weather they could get done with the job. However, the week of October 23rd-27th also saw several rain out days that prevented any sidewalks from being poured. When combined with other days lost to rain throughout the summer and delays brought on by unexpected changes in the plans, these last few setbacks pushed the completion date past Halloween. Economy Paving is happy to report that it has completed all major work as of October 31st 2006 and that the remaining work is quick detail/touch-up tasks.