The Harvard / Louise Green Street Project is Glendale’s first “green street” project and a component of the Central Park Master Plan. The goal of this Master Plan is to enhance the Park’s pedestrian connections to the evolving downtown by removing parking lots in favor of pedestrian promenades and plazas.

The project is the result of a competitive Proposition 84 Urban Greening Project Grant application.  Funding from this grant offers the City its first opportunity to combine multi-modal infrastructure improvements with enhancements to water quality and stormwater management. The project will take place on approximately 1.1 miles of roadway along Harvard Street and Louise Street adjacent to the Central Library, Adult Recreation Center, several churches and senior housing complexes. Prop 84 Funds provide curb extensions, bioswales, mid-block crossings, sharrows, bike lanes, and additional landscaping to the project area. This project will encourage people to walk and bike to destinations such as the YMCA, Americana at Brand, Glendale Galleria and the Museum of Neon Art. Overall, the project offers multiple benefits of improved water and air quality, as well as increased safety for all modes of transportation. The strategic location of this project in downtown Glendale allows a broad range of the population to benefit from and experience first hand these infrastructure improvements.

After competing with over 184 jurisdictions for funding, the City of Glendale was awarded $997,900 in Proposition 84 Urban Greening Project Grant funds from the State of California Strategic Growth Council in June 2014.  An additional $1.9 million dollars has been made available from State of California Gas Tax funds, for a total of approximately $2.9 million dollars in funds for design, outreach and construction of the project.

As a component of the grant, public outreach for the project took the form of an innovative pop-up street fair, that included mockups of the proposed bioswales.

Construction of the project started in mid-2016 and was completed in mid-2017.

As Principal Urban Designer at the City of Glendale, Alan Loomis was co-author of Prop 84 Grant and primary urban designer for the Harvard-Louise Green Streets Project.

Awards:

2017 American Public Works Association Southern California Chapter B.E.S.T “Project of the Year” Award