ATLANTIC AVENUE STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENT
BID SET
HWD10105 Atlantic Avenue - Phase One (Georgia Avenue to Logan Street)
This project involved multiple NYC public agency and public authority submittals & review,including, NYCDDC, NYCDOT, NYCDPR, LIRR, & Public Design Commission. My role was in-office coordination, direction and guidance of junior landscape staff (up to six landscape designers or civil engineers at a time), and collaboration and communication with the Prime Engineers; HDR, NYCDDC project manager and NYCDDC landscape architect. The tasks included: Vault Survey Level 1 and Level 2, Hardware Inventory & Inspection (locate & verify MH, CB, gas & water valve and other types of metal covers & boxes), Tree Inventory & Assessment, Tree Mitigation Plan, Schematic Landscape Planting Design & Plans, Final Landscape Design, Schematic & Final Cost Estimating, Illustrative Sections and Plans. The design & documentation phases of Phase One of Atlantic Avenue was approximately 18 months. Phase Two was an additional 18 months for design phase.
VISION ZERO
The Overall goal of this capital improvement project is to create a safer Atlantic Avenue.
Planned Improvements include new concrete sidewalks and a raised planted medians. The new sidewalks allow opportunities to easily add more street trees during this reconstruction. Raising the medians allows for more trees, shrubs, groundcover, perennials & groundcover plants on the Avenue. The overall intent is to transform Atlantic Avenue from a very busy, commercial thoroughfare and into a twenty-first century landscaped "Boulevard".
The additional street and median trees visually limit and soften the heavy commercial nature and "transform" the commercial corridor and thereby induce reduced vehicular speed, a primary goal of Mayor DeBlasio's and DOT's Vision Zero program. Additional trees, shrubs and plantings on the medians and sidewalks, also reduce urban heat island effect, reduce known atmospheric particulates, and contribute to a cleaner, greener boulevard in this East New York neighborhood, Brooklyn and New York City.
STREET TREES
Due to automobile injuries & declining health, many existing large caliper Pin Oak trees and expected construction impacts, DPR & DOT have agreed to remove forty-eight (48) trees on Atlantic Avenue, between Georgia Avenue and Logan Street. These trees will be replaced with a variety of trees depending on location, adjacent existing trees and overhead utilities.
Trees have been selected for their hardiness & durability, atmospheric pollution tolerance, drought & salt tolerance, mature height, habit, and seasonal interest. We consulted with DPR & DOT on final tree selections. The intent is to replace tree removals, increase tree diversity, provide seasonal interest, increase drought tolerance and ease of maintenance, and seek available opportunities for additional street trees.
Large canopy trees have been selected for the south side of Atlantic Avenue, while smaller understory trees have been selected for north side of Atlantic Avenue to minimize overhead utility conflicts.
Twenty-nine (29) new street tree pits have been added where DOT & DPR guidelines allow, avoiding known utility services, curb cuts, driveways, utility poles, and bus stops, supplementing the Atlantic Avenue streetscape.
TREE SPECIES & ATTRIBUTES
Large Street Trees
Pin Oak - tall shade tree, paired with existing Pin Oaks to complete existing tree grouping
Honey Locust – dappled shade on sidewalk, autumn color
"Wildfire" Blackgum – salt tolerant, excellent autumn color
Hackberry - drought tolerant, attracts birds & butterflies
Coffee Tree – drought tolerant, fragrant showy flowers
Under Utility Lines
Chokecherry Tree - paired with existing Chokecherries to complete existing tree grouping
Japanese Zelkova Tree – upright vase shaped tree, brilliant rust autumn color
Japanese Lilac Tree – small fragrant flowering tree, attracts hummingbirds & butterflies
Median Trees
Gingko – upright habit great in the medians, yellow autumn color
Rubber Tree – ornamental shade tree, similar to Elm, tolerant of extreme conditions
Frontier Elm – high tolerance to Dutch Elm disease, red purple autumn color
MEDIAN PLANTING
For the median understory plants and groundcover we chose "planting blocks" of contrasting colors that stand out within the diverse commercial and residential uses and elements along Atlantic Avenue neighborhood and street corridor, while providing contrasting textures and seasonal interest throughout the year. Understory planting heights vary along median length with shorter plants at intersections, preserving driver sightlines and pedestrians for safety. Specialized plantings are concentrated at pedestrian crossing refuges for visual interest and easier maintenance of this group of plants. Groundcover and perennial plants, with seasonal bulbs have been selected for median blocks where the depth to the LIRR tunnel roof is extremely tight, typically less than 2.5 ft. depth.
Median Trees were selected based on interpolated height at maturity, canopy width, root structure, hardiness, durability, drought & salt tolerance, seasonal variety, and minimal maintenance.
The depth of soil cover over the LIRR Tunnel was extensively reviewed. Greater depth to the LIRR tunnel roof, allowed for a deeper planter median. At those locations, trees were selected with taller mature height and proportionately larger root volume. Where the depth to the tunnel is reduced, trees are selected with more compact root growth and shorter height at maturity trees. This process allowed for maximizing the number of trees on the medians, adding seventy-one (71) new trees and improving the tree canopy cover of the overall streetscape of Atlantic Avenue.
Summary: forty-eight (48) replacement street trees, twenty-nine (29) additional street trees, seventy-one (71) new median trees; equals one hundred forty-eight (148) total trees planted, with one hundred (100) net additional trees added to the Atlantic Avenue thoroughfare.
