The so-called Laurel Canyon Boulevard Green Street Project aims not only to transform a funky Pacoima neighborhood (Los Angeles, California) of dirt and broken asphalt parkways without sidewalks into a boulevard of new sidewalks, curbs and gutters lined with salvia, coyote brush and California goldfields.
It will reduce flooding, improve water destined for the Los Angeles River and recharge the San Fernando Groundwater Basin with up to 13 million gallons of water per year.
Eleven homeowners gave up strips of lawn to make the green street possible.
The $3-million project aims to collect enough stormwater from the surrounding 123 acres to ultimately supply up to 120 homes — and serve as a model for new green streets across Los Angeles.
As such, it will resemble a garden oasis in nearby Sun Valley. Begun five years ago, the Elmer Avenue project incorporated “swales” of California native plants in a neighborhood east of Tujunga Avenue to reduce notorious floods and divert 13 million gallons of stormwater below ground.