SAN DIEGO NEEDS A

PASO ROBLES: the before and after

BEFORE AFTER

GREEN STREET IMPLANT

Prior to the green Now, a center storm-
street renovation, water drain has been
21st Street was prone built that not only
Streets are vital to people living in cities to get to the to major flooding, captures rainwater
resources they need, and the city itself, to encourage leaving the road but it also filters ad
trade, business and revenue. unusable to pedestri- purify it underground.
an, bikers and even This street still allows
automobiles. for all modes of
transportation even
By: Allyson Osborn during storms.

“Streets and their sidewalks, the main public

spaces of a city, are its most vital organs
organs.”
-Jane Jacobs, Influential Urban Planner

San Diego needs green streets. Streets are like organs,

and San Diego needs an implant. Within every city
are streets that act like veins connecting, supplying,
and bridging parts of the city together. With careful
design, green infrastructure can be added to the
streets of San Diego which will result in a broad pub-
lic and environmental benefit. In cases like Paso Robles 21st Street, the
public is more inclined to participate in less fossil fuel burning modes of
transportation such as biking and walking. When streets are more visi-
bly pleasing and aesthetic, the public is more likely to use the bike and
pedestrian lanes. One street that could use a makeover in San Diego is
Montezuma Road. Near SDSU, Montezuma Road could easily increase
its pedestrian users easily with green infrastructure and better placed
bike and pedestrian lanes. The addition of green streets on Montezu-
ma Road will not only benefit the environment by reducing the streets
carbon footprint but, planned properly can also capture and filter storm
runoff water into useable, safe, water. Water capturing design seen in Paso Robles not only in-
creases runoff capture, but also reduces flooding from heavy storms. Just recently, within the past
month Montezuma Road has been shut down due to flooding of the road and rock slides. There
are many benefits that are associated with green streets and San Diego should consider adopting
them into their future design.

Sources: US Census, Google Images, Earth Systems Portfolio, ABC 10 News.