I need to find out details of this creek restoration and design, especially how all the urban hardscaping holds up during floods. Do they remove the steel fish sculpture during high flows? Do the bridges back up with debris? The channel does not look very wide, although it is deep. I think that the city unearthed a culvert to daylight this creek. This area near the historic Mission and plaza seems like the center of human activity.
2008.July.8 at 7:52 pm
San Luis Obispo’s Mission Plaza
Dedicated 1970. Upstream San Luis Obispo Creek runs under several blocks of town (see opening in middle pic), but the Mission Plaza area was open creek, tangled riparian.
Hardscape is maintained and has held up under fast water rising to the iron fence. The bridges don’t back up too bad because the stuff has to get through the upstream end of the tunnel. Free Concerts in the Plaza throughout summer draw thousands. The 1772 Mission that fronts the creek remains a living parish, with marriages and regular services. Mallards and threatened steelhead are found here. Downside: The water is polluted but not well-marked so lots of kids play in it. Panhandlers congregate in certain areas of the Plaza. A local homeless woman was murdered in 2005 and left in the creek. (A homeless man was identified in February as the killer. In March her son killed four people at his father’s wrecking yard.)
More…
http://www.ci.san-luis-obispo.ca.us/missionplaza.asp
Kenneth E. Schwartz
San Luis Obispo’s reputation as one of the most beautiful and best-planned small cities on the West coast is due, in large part, to the work of Mr. Schwartz. This former five-term mayor steered the city through turbulent times in the 1970s and is well-known for creating Mission Plaza, a beautiful pedestrian walk that is now the focal point of downtown. First and foremost, he is an educator, serving on the staff of California Polytechnic State University for 36 years, and bringing consensus-building skills to all of his endeavors. Mr. Schwartz is still active in Obispo Beautiful.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1216/is_/ai_56749802
http://www.obispobeautiful.org/
City of San Luis Obispo, Environmental Restoration Program takes advantage of development activities to build creek restoration, tree plantings, and other natural habitat improvements into the development process. For example, over the past year, over one-half mile of creek banks within the City have been restored with native plantings replacing weeds and exotic species which are often harmful to the streamside environment. A brochure related to the care and restoration of creeks, San Luis Obispo Creek Care, has recently been prepared. To request a copy of this brochure, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401 or e-mail arichard@slocity.org (April Richardson).
2008.July.8 at 8:02 pm
Hope you got my post about Mission Plaza.
There’s another great project in Paso Robles called Salinas RiverWalk. It’s fairly new but check out Larry Moore Park near Hwy 101 at Niblick Bridge.