Southwest (SW) Streetscape and Street Tree Master Plan

The master plan must demonstrate a sound understanding of the City's planning goals and categorize how urban greening projects can maximize the City's environmental and place-making objectives, while identifying strategic opportunities which:  

• Strengthen the sense of place, neighborhood identity and aesthetics. This will be achieved through the identification of strategic tree planting locations at gateways and thoroughfares along with the selection of species to identify specific districts along major corridors. Native, local plant species will also be reintroduced.

• Build the community's resilience to the impacts of climate change through tree shading to reduce the heat island effect.

• Maintain and enhance the quality of the air, water and land through a mature tree canopy's ability to sequester carbon, release oxygen and filter storm water.

• Promote and encourage actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the creation of attractive and comfortable pedestrian and cycling routes which foster the use of alternate modes of transportation.

• Create of a roadmap by which a sustainable urban forest can be developed and implement a planning process that will cultivate the maintenance of ecological, social and economic functions and benefits over time.

• Promote awareness with City residents on the benefits of trees through community education and outreach.

Sustainability and conservation of resources shall be an integral part of the Plan, and recognized as a Project goal throughout. Consultant shall incorporate sustainable landscape within all of the in support of a sustainable design theme, which consistently projects a positive statement to the community, and its visitors alike. 

Plan recommendations, at a minimum, shall consider sustainable planning, building, site, and design practices. Community input on how to expand upon the following objectives, is mission critical in achieving project sustainability goals: 

• Permeable surfaces.
• Energy conservation and atmospheric impact.
• Habitat protection and enhancement.
• Naturalizing water conveyance, where possible.
• Irrigation and water use efficiency.
• Reduced pesticide use.
• Develop storm water retention capability.
• Efficient use of materials and resources.

The Southwest Streetscape and Street Trees Master Plan intends to promote awareness with City residents, on the benefit of trees, through community education and outreach.

By strengthening the sense of place, neighborhood identity, and aesthetics, through the identification of strategic tree planting locations, as well as their introduction of native local plant species. In an attempt to build the community’s resilience to the impacts of climate change through tree shading to reduce heat island effect. While maintaining and enhancing the quality of the air, water, and land through a mature tree canopies ability to sequester carbon and release oxygen, and filter stormwater.

Typology Approach: With nine different Typologies of streets found within the project limits.  These typologies have been mapped and categorized in a spreadsheet to allow the City to easily identify and quantify the changes required to the infrastructure in order to maximize the canopy on any given street within the project area.  This will allow for cost models and budget planning to achieve the planting goals. 

Urban Forestry Strategy: Through an urban forestry lens, the diversity of trees is imperative for a healthy and resilient canopy. Diversity can be approached from two sides, the first being tree species and the second tree size. Having more biodiversity within the population of canopy coverage creates greater resiliency to pests and diseases making it more manageable if a problem were to arise. The variety within in tree sizes not only correlates to the spacing and structure of the urban forest but is more related to the age and maturity of the canopy which effects the flow of benefits from the trees as well as effecting proper allocation of funds for requisition and maintenance.

Heat and Canopy Coverage Priorities: The overall strategy of this Master Plan is to plant the right trees in the right place, maximizing their potential to provide shade.  This means that on streets where there are overhead utility lines, the species selection will not be uniform.  Many people love the look of a uniform species of trees lining both sides of a street.  However, if there are overhead utility lines this is a condition that should not be attempted.  Instead, it is recommend that the side of the street without the overhead utility be optimized for planting the largest shade trees possible, and the side under the overhead utilities be planted only with smaller, appropriate species.  This asymmetrical planting scheme will achieve the highest quantity and quality canopy coverage, that will require the least amount of long-term maintenance.