Aerial views and more!

Maybe it looks even better from above!

Annie and I received two great emails this morning from neighbors Jason and Nataly. Not only did they tell us how happy they were about the new street park, they sent over aerial photos of the site. A double whammy of happiness! I hope they continue to take aerial shots of the street park as it progresses. If you have photos of the site you'd like to share, please email them to me at emily@psgsf.org.

Yea, heavy equipment!

Just as it was getting dark I was able to take my dog Bentley on a walk and check out the day's progress. A good portion of the street has been roped off so that the asphalt can be safely removed. We are still maintaining two-way traffic and perpendicular parking on both sides, so don't worry! The area between the parking and the fence has a bunch of rock, asphalt, and unmentionables dumped over the years by countless people of questionable morals, so it all has to be dug up and safely removed. No more dumping allowed in our street park!

Bentley checks out the BRC to be

In addition to the area being removed along the fence, there some additional features that will have the asphalt removed from them as well - these are labeled 'BRCs' for bio-retention cell. It is basically a fancy way of saying a planted area that acts to slow down and filter rainwater. There are 4 of these located along the parking zone to slow and filter water as it travels down the street. You'll love them, we promise.

Beautiful, level park

The site was originally quite sloped, so much so that if you stood at the bottom by the fence you could not be seen from the street level. Now with the retaining wall finished and the area back-filled with dirt, the site is almost level. I am honestly overjoyed to see things at this stage of completion - so many meetings about the retaining wall,  grading of the site, the eventual redwood fence that will top the structure... endless.

Night-time Agaves at P garden

After walking through the new street park Bentley and I headed up to Pennsylvania Garden to dispose of his doggy waste and enjoy night-time at the garden. With the new street park we may incorporate some features that are not found at Pennsylvania Garden - like a larger seating area with lighting - but for now we're just dreaming up the possibilities.