Conservation, Recreation, Education And Transportation Expo Greenway

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Dean Howell’s Expo Greenway Thesis
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The Exposition Right of Way (ROW) between Motor Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard in West Los Angeles is a fallow strip of land holding exciting opportunities.

· Click here for the WPD's April 2012 Final Concept Report on the Westwood-Expo Botanical Water Garden (aka Westwood Neighborhood Greenway) including FAQs and budgets.

On March 18, 2011, the Expo Board unanimously chose the no-parking option for Expo Light Rail’s Westwood station. Within days, Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz asked the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation’s Watershed Protection Division (WPD) to provide him with an Expo greenway proposal. After meeting with stakeholders, on May 11, 2011, the WPD unveiled its Westwood-Expo Botanical Water Garden concept.

On October 4, 2011, a number of concerned scientists – Sean Bergquist, Principal Ecologist at Great Ecology, Inc.; Kristy Morris, Senior Scientist/Water Quality at the Council for Watershed Health; and Tracy Quinn of the Natural Resources Defense Council – volunteered to meet with and answer questions for the Westside Gardens Civic Association during a presentation from the Watershed Protection Division. (Great thanks to them and to the Westside Gardens Civic Association, which took an early interest in the project and has given its preliminary approval.)

On November 16 and 17, 2011, two Proposition O oversight committees heard presentations on the Expo greenway proposal. Los Angeles City Councilmember Koretz told the Proposition O Administrative Oversight Committee that “the greenway he is proposing will not only facilitate the cleanup of urban runoff and help the city deal with TMDLs, but will also be a vast improvement in the park poor section of the city.” “If this project is supported,” he said, “it will lend a significant hand in smart planning and green living.” Mr. Koretz explained that “cleansing the water next to the train station . . . will not only aid the environment but also provide a perfect classroom for students to observe these environmental practices and accomplish the City’s watershed protection goals and provide park space in an area that desperately needs it.” (Proposition O General Obligation Bond Administrative Oversight Committee Minutes.)

Click the links below to find out how the Westwood-Expo Botanical Water Garden can meet all four of the Expo Greenway Goals:

Conservation: Ballona Creek’s “tributaries” cross the ROW, where water can be cleaned while sustaining a restored native plant ecosystem. The Botanical Water Garden would divert dry‐weather flow (spring water, mixed with urban runoff) from the Overland Avenue storm drain to treat up to 4000 acres dry-weather runoff. Diverted water will be lifted to the stream on the south side of the Expo light rail (South Stream), and run through a culvert under the tracks to the north side (North Stream). During the 3-4 hours of being liberated from the storm drain, water would be cleaned through physical and biological treatment, as it flows through various plant communities and soil media and is exposed to the Sun’s ultraviolet light.

Recreation: A class 1 bike path, with separate spaces for bicyclists and pedestrians, is approved and funded for the north side of the railroad tracks, traversing from Palms Park (with Palms Child Care Center, Palms Recreation Center, and the Palms-Rancho Park Library) westward to Sepulveda Boulevard. The Botanical Water Garden’s south side would also include a decomposed granite and grassy walkway between Overland Avenue and Westwood Boulevard, where visitors could enjoy carefully selected native plants.

Education: Project elements include educational and interpretive signs about local ecology and hydrology, offering a rich outdoor education laboratory for Overland Avenue Elementary School children (across the street) and for those within reach of Expo Light Rail. In a preliminary plan approved by the Los Angeles City Council, Expo Greenway would host an outdoor classroom.

And

Transportation: On March 18, 2011, the Expo Board of Directors awarded a contract to Skanska/Rados to design and build Phase 2 of the Expo Line from Culver City to Santa Monica. Engineering and design work have begun, including the Westwood station serving the Westwood-Expo Botanical Water Garden. Operation of Expo is projected to begin in 2015.

EXPO GREENWAY!

Together, we can CREATE Expo GREENWay!