Berkeley City Council will vote tomorrow, Tuesday, on whether to make official a proposal to transform Center Street between Oxford and Shattuck into a pedestrian-oriented public plaza which would see Strawberry Creek “daylighted” and, according to supporters of the plan, create a much-needed “heart” of Berkeley.
The vote takes place at Council Chambers and residents are encouraged to show up and show their support or otherwise.
The sustainable design proposals are by landscape designer and urbanist Walter Hood, principal of Oakland-based Hood Design and Professor and former Chair of the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Department at the UC Berkeley. They are the end-result of 20 years of meetings, resolutions, studies and significant expenditure.
Hood was commissioned by the non-profit Ecocity Builders which received donations totaling $150,000 to commission the design.
If it is voted through, the city will be able to apply competitively for funding to complete the plan and implement it.
The proposal for the project can be viewed here (alert: large PDF file).
Writer, UC professor and Berkeley resident Michael Pollan supports the plans: “The Strawberry Creek Proposal represents a thrilling approach to revivifying downtown Berkeley. I’m keeping my fingers crossed on this one,” he says.
The voting takes place on Tuesday March 23 at Berkeley City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, at 7pm.
Related posts:
A possible future for Center Street [2.9.10]
A green, pedestrian-friendly vision for Downtown [2.8.10]
