© THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, DECEMBER 30, 2016, VOL. 30 NO. 10
Page 3
City of La Mesa Applies Innovative Techniques in
Downtown Streetscape Project
Receives Award for Tree Planting and Water Use Techniques
The City of La Mesa, CA, recently completed a downtown streetscape project to
“revitalize and beautify the downtown
area, to enhance its sense of place, to improve its status as a destination, and to solidify its identity as La Mesa’s city center.”
This was accomplished through the replacement and refurbishment of existing
pedestrian infrastructure, installation of
new amenities, and enhancement of pedestrian linkages.
Gregory P. Humora, Assistant City
Manager of the City of La Mesa, detailed
the improvements including:
· Enhanced brick crosswalks for organic
feel
· 10-foot wide pedestrian ramps with bollards
· Removable bollards that can be placed
in the street and used for temporary
street closures
· A c i d- w a s h ed a n d h a n d - to o l e d
square-jointed concrete sidewalks to
provide an older, classic appearance
· Pedestrian-scale period lighting with
built in electrical receptacles for special
events
· Dedicated special event power supplies
· Festoon string lighting systems at intersections with LED color-controlled coordination for special events and to create atmosphere
· Street furniture, and
· Nine different types of street trees,
planted with Silva Cell root development areas beneath the sidewalk to provide proper soil conditions to promote
root growth without damaging infrastructure, and gutter inlets that filter
storm water to the tree root for irrigation
and stormwater treatment.
The crown of the street was also lowered and repaved to make the street as
walkable as possible for special events.
Humora reported that the most unique
project features are the street tree Silva
Cells, the removable bollards, the LED
string lights, the wide pedestrian ramps,
and the brick crosswalks.
Earlier this month the City of La Mesa
was presented with a San Diego Regional
Urban Forests Council 2016 award for us-
ing innovative tree planting and water use
techniques in the planning and design of the
Downtown Village Streetscape Improvement Project.
The project included installation of
storm water interceptors with Silva tree filters which provide water for the 68 street
trees planted along La Mesa Boulevard.
This innovation provides a way to intercept
storm water from street gutters and filter the
water through tree wells and gravel filter
drains prior to releasing it into the public
storm drain system. These systems will
also help remove pollutants, providing
clean storm water heading downstream
towards the ocean.
For more information, contact Gregory P. Humora, Assistant City Manager,
City of La Mesa on email:
[email protected], tel. (619)
667-1146, website:
www.cityoflamesa.com.
The results of the City of La Mesa's streetscape project.
(Photo: Courtesy of the City of La Mesa)