The water flows across the west side.
By Cindy Hardin, Director of Outdoor Education | Photos by the author
I am what could be called a highly engaged voter. I never miss an election, and often host a pre-election get together with friends to hash out myriad propositions and measures that are on our state ballots. I make a point to do research on the various measures, and like to think that my choices are informed.
However, I am the first to admit that post-election, my attentiveness vanishes. Of course, I do track the outcome to take inventory of the winners and losers, and like anyone, am gratified when results align with my choices. But some of the propositions and bonds that win in elections take years to make their way through the maze of government agencies on their way to implementation. Proposition O is a case in point. Proposition O? “Which one was that?” you might ask. And that would be understandable, as Proposition O was passed in 2004! Its purpose was “to improve water quality by reducing pollutant loads to the impaired waters of Los Angeles.” An additional goal was “creating or enhancing open space, habitat or recreation benefits” in our city.
Now, after all these years, a project has been completed on the west side of town that is a wonderful example of how the bond money from Proposition O was spent. Additional help came from a State bond, the result of another long-ago ballot item, Proposition 84 (2006). Proposition 84 was also intended to improve water quality on a state wide basis, and to be administered by the State Water Control Board.
The project, known as the Westwood Greenway, is an innovative process that utilizes sunlight, plants and filtration to clean urban run-off before it reaches Santa Monica Bay. It is located between Westwood Boulevard and Overland Avenue along the light rail “E” (formerly known as the Expo) line that links downtown LA to Santa Monica,. The history of this site goes back even further than the voting of the two bonds that have provided funding.
Until 1953, the track was the route of the Santa Monica Air Line, one of the many electric rail systems that once crisscrossed the region. Believe it or not, during the first part of the 20th century, Los Angeles was said to have one of the best public transportation systems in the entire United States. However, this fantastic system saw its demise by mid-century, as a network of freeways, increased private ownership of automobiles and far flung suburban communities became the preferred model for Southern California. The former Air Line tracks were used by freight trains until the mid-80’s, after which a 200-foot-wide space, bordered by homes, between Westwood and Overland, remained fallow. In 1989 Southern Pacific Railroad put the land up for sale, and within a year the parcel was purchased by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. The ultimate result of this purchase was the installation of the “E” line.
By 2007, debate continued about what to do with the right of way space that was on either side of the railway. Originally, it was proposed that the land be used to create parking lots to accommodate 170 cars. Neighborhood activists who had pushed for the train line itself pushed for an alternative plan – one that would encourage people to be less dependent on cars, facilitate safer biking across the city, and create an island of habitat amidst urban sprawl, while cleaning up the waters that course through our hidden storm drain system.
Prior to the settlement of Los Angeles, a vast network of seasonal and perennial streams ran down from the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains and across the LA Basin; primary documents from early explorers attest to this fact. Much of our underground storm drain system follows the historic path of these streams; such was the case with the Overland storm drain, which echoes the course of long-ago Brown Canyon Creek, with its source in Beverly Glen (formerly Brown Canyon). An idea to have the trains cross under Overland Avenue to mitigate traffic delays and pedestrian danger at the rebuilt train tracks was blocked by the massive storm drain. The negative of the inability to run the train line underground became a positive: the idea to “daylight” Brown Canyon Creek and run this newly created (albeit artificial) stream along either side of the tracks for the new train line.
Citizen advocacy among a group of local residents gathered steam, and the idea of a parking lot was replaced with a new plan. Sleuthing through government records revealed that funds through the aforementioned propositions would be appropriate use to finance the Greenway. Plans were discussed, conferences occurred with city agencies like the Bureau of Sanitation, and finally, on June 27, 2013, ground was broken on the project. The daylighting of the creek was an integral component.
Daylighting of long buried streams is an idea that is taking hold on a national level. Exposing urban run-off to sunlight helps to destroy undesirable bacteria. Filtration prior to daylighting removes trash and debris that is channeled from our streets into unfiltered storm drains. And plants within the stream capture toxic heavy metals and excess fertilizer, further cleaning water before it is discharged into Santa Monica Bay. The artificial stream is designed to clean over 1 million gallons of year-round, urban run-off – spring water which is polluted along the way to the Ocean by everything from plastic bags to brake dust.
Although these concepts seem simple, the implementation requires lots of moving parts. First, at the Overland end of the project, water is diverted from the Overland Storm Drain and filtered through a hydrodynamic separator. It is then pumped to the surface, where it runs west along the north side of the tracks toward Westwood Boulevard. The water flows under the tracks through a culvert, and re-emerges, via a set of pumps, on the south side of the tracks. The water heads east, and then flows back into the Overland storm drain just south of where it was first pumped up – with far less pollutants and trash.
Although the process is far from natural, and relies on lots of machinery and equipment to achieve, the result is a new ecosystem. Advocates for the Greenway realized that a new island of habitat could also be a part of the project, and successfully pushed for a huge palette of native plants be installed along the new waterway. Trees like Sycamores and Alders were included in the plans, and many species of native wildflowers were chosen in addition to these streamside tree species. Hummingbird Sage, California Poppies, native Yarrows and Phacelia species are all present at the Greenway. A decomposed granite pathway meanders through the site, and strategically placed boulders provide seating areas that will be used in the future for educational gatherings, in the form of field trips for schools, both local and those connected by the train line. Students will be able to take public transportation to learn about the project, thus eliminating the need to spend scarce funds on buses!
Public events are also part of the program here, and the Westwood Greenway group (a nonprofit corporation formed by the project’s advocates) is already staging tours on the third Sunday of each month. As the vegetation takes hold, butterflies and other insects can be seen busily flitting about, lizards are present to feast on these insects, and native birds previously not seen in the area are showing up. Recently, a Great Blue Heron was documented on the site, probably on the hunt for one of those insect loving lizards!
To further the site’s education potential, signs throughout the Greenway share information about the engineering angle of the project and the role that native plants play in the life of native pollinators and the food web. The digital web also has a place at the Greenway. Visitors with mobile devices can use the sign’s QR codes to extend the signs’ information, including hearing the language of the land’s traditional caretakers, the Tongva people. An audio tour is also available through a free app. The WestwoodGreenway.org website can be read in any of dozens of languages and includes information about sustainable landscaping and how to volunteer.
Another bonus to the project is the beautiful bike lane and pedestrian path that run along the south side of the tracks. No cars – just silent pedaling and padding past wildflowers and creatures, which is a lovely respite from urban hazards and noise that is experienced by dedicated bikers and walkers as they traverse city streets.
The Greenway is proof positive that our voices can be heard, first at the ballot box and then through citizen advocacy, to make our neighborhoods greener and more livable for both humans and wildlife. The success of this project is due in no small part to the dedicated efforts of those on the Greenway Committee, and I would be remiss if I failed to mention these urban environmental heroes. So, a huge thanks to Jonathan Weiss, David Wendell, Sean McMillan, Annette Mercer, Elektra Grant and Marilyn Tusher. And a humble admission that I was fortunate to work alongside them. One of the key members of the group, Sarah Hays, a native plant fan and expert, is sadly no longer with us, but her vision lives on at the Greenway. The Bureau of Sanitation and the City Council District 5 also provided great support and encouragement in the project, and are a wonderful example of city agencies working with the public to make Los Angeles a better place.
So remember: it is worth it to get out and vote, and even though we may lose sight of long ago election results, sometimes they eventually create a thing of beauty that is beneficial to all!. And if you want to learn more about the Greenway, you can go to westwoodgreenway.org, which is full of information and beautiful images regarding the project.