Vancouver City officials released details of 18 major summer road construction projects on Thursday, including an $11 million plan for the redesign of Granville Street.

The stretch of Granville Street from Cordova to Drake will undergo a massive redesign including widening sidewalks, new street furniture, lighting and trees -- at the same time as construction of a Canada Line station continues between Georgia and Robson.

But in Vancouver proper, many of the construction projects are minor, including paving and signal installation along Fir Street, as well as sidewalk restoration along East Hastings and re-paving sections of Hornby Street.

Knight Street at 49th Avenue will be expanded to make room for left turn lanes and signals, in the hope of cutting down on accidents.

Vancouver Deputy City Engineer Peter Judd outlined the plan for this year's construction work, including the Granville and Cambie Street corridors.

But some downtown businesses say they have already been struggling as a result of reduced pedestrian traffic due to the construction of the Canada Line station.

Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association Executive Director Charles Gauthier said he is concerned about maintaining business in the area.

"We want to see a very firm construction schedule," he said. "A very clear idea in terms of how they're going to maintain access for pedestrians to the street, and (how) customers are going to be able to access the restaurants and the retailers on the street."

Donny Wong at Engineering Services for the City of Vancouver told CTV News the city plans to improve the Cambie Street corridor as the end of construction nears.

"We're looking at introducing additional pedestrian signals to allow people to cross easier," he said. "From a beautification perspective we're looking at new pedestrian lighting ... (and) we're looking at introducing additional street furniture."

Some business owners along the Cambie Street corridor have complained their business has dropped significantly as a result of the Canada Line construction, but neither the province nor the city has provided any funding to compensate them.

Downtown businesses are looking forward to the redesign, Gauthier said, but do not want to lose business during the construction period.

Final details of the Granville mall redesign will be presented to city council next month, and construction is scheduled to begin in July. The Granville redesign and Canada Line construction are due to be completed at about the same time.

The idea for the redesign began with city council's approval in 2002 and has been in development with the public's consultation since 2004.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber and Stephen Smart