Burnham Street
The City of Tigard's major transportation project to rebuild Burnham Street near
downtown Tigard is complete. The final finishing touches were wrapped
up in time for the big ribbon cutting celebration held on Sunday, July 24, 2011. Watch the video.
Tigard Mayor Craig Dirksen describes this as Tigard's most complex and challenging public
works project to date. "Burnham Street was one of Tigard's oldest streets—an eyesore. Now we have
a new street, up-to-date utilities, and an entrance way to the heart of our city that matches
our community's spirit," says Mayor Dirksen.
The new Burnham Street is also Tigard's first "green street, with energy-saving lighting
and other sustainable features.
What makes a "Green Street" green?
Improvements to Burnham Street include 10—18 foot sidewalks, on-street parking, and a
"Green Street" streetscape, which includes the use of Low
impact Development Applications
in the streetscape to treat stormwater runoff. Landscaped
"Stormwater Planters," located
within the sidewalk, provide a visual amenity, as well as an effective way to remove oils,
dirt, and other pollutants before discharging stormwater to neighboring creeks.
Stormwater runoff will flow to one of several stormwater planters for treatment. Planters
are placed in series so that stormwater will enter a planter and either drain through
the soil layers to be treated or flow through the planter and into the next one for treatment.
These soil layers are designed to remove pollutants and also provide a healthy
growing media for plants and trees, qualifying these planters as "Green Street"
technology. The planters represent the latest in
green infrastructure that protects
water resources and promotes sustainable design.
The design of the planters was a collaborative effort between engineers Kevin Timmins
and Ashley Cantlon and landscape architect, David Haynes, of the Lake Oswego firm Otak, Inc.
Comments and questions:
Project Manager Kim McMillan
Phone: 503-718-2642 or kim@tigard-or.gov
|
|
|
Photos courtesy of Doug Vorwaller