A rendering of Baker Beach Green Street improvements on El Camino del Mar
between the Lands End trailhead and the Legion of Honor
Next Tuesday night, the SFPUC is hosting a public meeting about the Baker Beach Green Street project, designed to manage stormwater and improve water quality at Baker Beach.
The project is focused on enhancements in two corridors: El Camino Del Mar between the Legion of Honor and the Lands End Trailhead, and on Sea Cliff Avenue between 25th and 26th Avenues.
From the project website:
During heavy rains, stormwater can overwhelm the City’s combined sewer system and contribute to neighborhood flooding and discharges into the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean. Rain gardens, permeable paving, and other green infrastructure technologies are stormwater management technologies that take advantage of the natural processes of soils and plants to slow down and divert stormwater runoff so it does not overwhelm the sewer system. Green infrastructure also cleans stormwater onsite before it enters our sewer system.
The Baker Beach Green Street is one of eight green infrastructure projects the SFPUC is planning to build throughout the City in the next few years. These projects are part of the Sewer System Improvement Program (SSIP), a multi-billion dollar citywide investment to upgrade our aging sewer infrastructure now and for generations to come.
The project’s goals are to improve water quality at Baker Beach and China Beach and reduce localized flooding by integrating rain gardens into existing parkland and neighborhood, and introducing permeable concrete to reduce stormwater runoff.
Construction will also improve pedestrian and cyclist accessibility on El Camino Del Mar, and create habitats for birds and butterflies using California native plants.
At the August 26 open house, project managers will present the final designs for El Camino Del Mar, Sea Cliff Ave, and 25th Avenue. According to the project schedule, construction will kick off in summer 2015 and last until Summer 2016.
The meeting will take place from 6pm until 7pm at Katherine Delmar Burke School, 7070 California Street near 32nd Avenue.
For more information on the Baker Beach Green Street project, visit the website or download the fact sheet (PDF).
Sarah B.
I look forward to seeing what other people think, but it looks better than GG so far, no?
How about reconnecting the road between Legion and Land’s End, so both areas have greater accessiblity? Nah, that’s to common sensical.
The idea is nice. To bad it will not work. Why? To really make a dent into the water surge during a heavy rain most of the North Central Richmond would need to do things to slow the water down. What I did not see in the report was a block by block analysis of the actual discharge amounts. I am sure it is around, I hope, but it would have been nice to see.
The problem is that a large percentage of that area is in rentals. Most landlords do not want the added expense of taking up some of the concrete in front of their properties and planting anything. Much less pay a garden service to keep in looking nice.
This is but another example of a lack of leadership and thinking at City Hall. The City forced all the maintenance, repair, and upkeep of trees and the like on the sidewalk/street interface back to the building owners. So it is any wonder that they maximize their economic utility by using concrete?
Most of the North Central Richmond is getting new sewers. We have all had fun with the digging. In addition to that the streets are being re-paved. Why is it that since the work is going on, that the gutters are not replaced with permeable ones? Because nobody at City Hall really looks at the neighborhoods in a comprehensive organic way. If they did, then this particular problem would be included in the paving project.
I suspect that this project will make only a slight dent in the surge water problem.
The bikeway should be more separated from cars. folks drive pretty fast in that area.
I agree with Jimbo. Unprotected bike lanes are yesterday’s infrastructure, not something we should be building now. Green streets have to offer green transportation too.
They should also put a barrier for the sidewalk on the west side of the road. Tourists often pull directly on the sidewalk as if it is a drive way. The road is plenty wide enough to have parking on both sides, a dedicated bike path (protected from cars) as well as a sidewalk (protected from bikes and cars). This section of Lincoln Park needs serious thought, not just a few plants.