Southwest (SW) Streetscape and Street Tree Master Plan

The Southwest Streetscape and Street Tree 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.

RFQ – 16-17-006

Project Cost - $610,247.77 (Tree Trust Fund)

Project Kickoff – April 2019

Consultant – Curtis + Rogers Design Studio, Inc.

Project Goal – Develop a blueprint for the City’s use in the implementation of a cohesive and meaningful vision to restore and enhance the Urban Tree Forest (tree canopy) within the Southwest portion of the City. Project will also recognize the interconnectedness of natural resources and greening projects, as well as focus on sustainable features. Evaluation of existing traffic and parking conditions and impacts on future residents will also be provided.

Sustainability and conservation of resources are an integral part of the Plan, and is recognized as a Project goal throughout. The consultant incorporates 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.

• 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.

SOUTHWEST STREET TREE MASTER PLAN – PROJECT PHASING

PHASE 1 - Pilot Project Master Plan

Task 1: Site Analysis and Assessment - Completed

Conduct environmental site analysis of the area to consider existing site conditions, inventory components, and frequency of updates, canopy cover, GPS Tree Inventory, knowledge about the composition and structure of the City’s urban forest, opportunities, and constraints, along with neighborhood and civic interests.

Task 2: Development of Community Outreach, Public Input Process and Consensus Building - Ongoing

Embark on the community outreach process, seek to build resident support for the Street Tree and Streetscape planning project, and solicit community comment on how the Master Plan should be designed to meet the needs of residents and visitors.  The community outreach, public input, and consensus building effort will be integral to a successful Master Plan and design process.

LINK FOR SURVEY COMING SOON

Task 3: Pilot Projects Master Plan and Schematics - Ongoing

Based on needs assessment and community outreach, a Master Plan for Pilot Projects shall be developed.  This Pilot Project Master Plan shall reflect the needs and interests identified by the community, the City, grant contract provisions, and other key partners.  A palette of recommended plants to be used in the pilot project will also be developed, making use of existing resources from the Tree Trust Fund.  This Pilot Project shall also identify the areas of the study area that have the highest priority for implementation based on a needs assessment of the site, and including community input.

Task 4: Presentation to Miami City Commission for Final Pilot Project Master Plan Adoption - Pending

Once the Pilot Project Landscape Master Plan has been drafted, the Consultant shall make a presentation to the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board and the Miami City Commission detailing the components of the Plan, highlighting the identified maintenance priorities, and recognizing the extent of community outreach and involvement attained in developing the Master Plan.

PHASE 2 - Plot Project Design

Task 2.1: Site Analysis and Assessment Phase - Pending

The Consultant team will categorized areas according to their maintenance status and will diagnose remaining areas not covered in Phase I, for renovation interventions of specific degree of intervention based on the site analysis observations.

Task 2.2: Community Outreach - Pending

The purpose of Phase II meetings will be to seek community input on particular issues for each neighborhood, as further development plans are prepared for the individual neighborhoods. Given that individual tree conditions will now be documented, Consultant team experts will be able to address individual concerns regarding tree assessments.

Task 2.3: Master Plan Schematics and Guidelines for Remaining Study Area - Pending

Design Guidelines and Documentation of Master Plan

Consultant shall develop specific design guidelines chapters for the following areas:

Riverview Historic District, Shenandoah North Streetscape, Bird Road/Douglas Station Streetscape, Southwest 27th Ave Streetscape, Southwest 8th Street - Streetscape Design Guidelines.  The scope of these design guidelines will be general and at masterplan level

Sustainable Design Guidelines

Consultant shall develop sustainable streetscape design guidelines, green infrastructure and resilience strategies for following areas:

Riverview Historic District, Shenandoah North, Bird Road/Douglas Station, Southwest 27th Ave, Southwest 8th Street

Task 2.4: Cost Estimate – Maintenance Plan - Pending

Consultant Team will outline in collaboration city staff, preliminary operating cost estimates for implementation of the proposed phases.  Consultant will also assist in the operating cost and maintenance plan from the sustainability aspects of the proposed strategies for the study area.

Task 2.5: Urban Forester Needs - Pending

Assess the City’s need to utilize an Urban Forester, whose responsibilities include long-term care and management of urban city trees.  Identify Urban Forester’s involvement in both maximizing the benefits of urban forests and minimizing associated cost, as well as providing expertise on vegetation resources, community framework and resource management.

Task 2.6: Street Tree Master Plan - Pending

The components of the Management Plan shall include assessments of tree and horticultural resources; long-term, intermediate, and short-term for tree canopy cover, species diversity and tree age distribution; program and system descriptions for tree risk management, plant health care, curb/sidewalk repair; Management Plan and mechanism for integrating feedback into the Management Plan.

More Informing Coming Soon.

Southwest (SW) Streetscape and Street Tree Master Resiliency Action Forum Presentation(PDF, 13MB)