LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Los Angeles city officials and partners officially cut the ribbon for the Bradley Plaza and Green Alley stormwater and open space project in Pacoima, designed to improve water quality and provide room for gatherings.
Officials with the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation and Environment, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, as well as the organizations Pacoima Beautiful and The Trust for Public Land celebrated the milestone on Oct. 22.
LASAN officials said the completed project will provide a range of benefits, including improved water quality, by capturing and infiltrating stormwater runoff, eliminating alley flooding and providing a place for community members to gather.
“I’m proud of our collaboration to deliver much-needed green space in Pacoima,” Rodriguez said. “This project showcases how we can design with both the community and environment in mind. Bradley Plaza and Green Alley brings together beautiful community gathering spaces and engineering that will improve water quality and reduce local flooding during rainstorms.”
The site is located in the alley southwest of and parallel to Van Nuys Boulevard, between Lehigh and Pala Avenues in Pacoima.
“The Bradley Plaza and Green Alley project represents everything for which the Department of Public Works stands: collaboration, community, sustainability,” said Greg Good, the president of the Board of Public Works.
By replacing the alley’s crumbling surface with new asphalt that drains into infiltration planters, subsurface infiltration trenches and a catch basin system, the project will remove pollutants from and infiltrate about two million gallons of stormwater into the aquifer each year, LASAN officials stated.
“This is exactly the type of project LASAN loves to pursue and has cultivated a unique expertise in,” said Enrique Zaldivar, executive director and general manager of LASAN.
The alley is one of the first planned “Shared Streets” in Los Angeles, specifically designed to slow traffic down, creating a safe space for children to play and residents to gather.
The project also allows for pedestrian and vehicle access to businesses and homes, and it includes custom locally reclaimed wood seating, a shade structure, outdoor fitness equipment and a nature classroom along with decorative street paint to represent an arroyo stream.
LASAN officials said the bureau and The Trust for Public Land are creating additional, similar green alleys around the city, with two new green alley networks planned for South Los Angeles.