A Park With a Twist ... and a Turn
H(lUST(IN BUFFALO BAYOU PROMENA A ParkWitha Twist...anda Tu rn B y K evi n
S hantey
t wasn'ttoo many decadesago that the Buffalo Bayou, which meanderstiom the rvestinto downtownHouston, was leit for dead. l'rash,pollution, anclfoul odors forced I I Ioustorlians to go the olhcr direction.Ironicallv,despitc I I thc lbxascityf rvidelyusednickname,'lhetlayouCitl', onl), a i-ewstretchesofthe rvater|ay and certainly none do$.ntown rvereused bv the public. One exception:The nnnualReekingRegattacanoeracethat wasaimedat draw i ng l l tcnl i oDto thc h.r1ou\pl i ght. 'Ihe bayouonceflor.rrished asa naturalwaterwayand even carriedbrothersAugustusand JohnAllen into its lowef rvherethey foundedthe city of Houstonin t 836. reaches, The spot, calledAllen'sLanding, is now a historic park at the edgeof dorvntou'n'shigh-rise offi ce buildings. As thc waterlronttradcrs'oulpostgrew up, railwayswere laid, roads rverepaved,and subdivisionssproutcd.llventu alil', an elevatedfreervayrvasbuilt a)ongthe bayou'spath, in part because it $'asone ofthe t'ewcorridorswithoutbuild ings.Houstonians rventon with their lives,givinglittle thougbtto the bayou.It waslike many urbanwaterwavs, a pollutedneglectedatierthought. Ilut toda),,Iluffalo Bayouis becoming a model ofwhat urbiln \\.aterh.ays should be. After a multiyear collaborative effirrt betrveenpublic and private interests,a ke,vstretchhas I I
. ; :: a ;i
' r MA /
2o or
19
18 p l n r s I
n e c R E A r r o N M Ay
2 o oe
A number of innovations andlessons mavbenefitotherstormwateFcum-Dark efforts: Top-level support,vision,andpatience Houston's effortcentered ona civicgroupforinitialfunding, anditsleadership maintained a strongvision. At thesame public-sector time, agencies became truepartners in thelongtermobiectives sothattheprojectmaintained momentum. Innovativeparkplanning,plantt hardscapes, andequipment the Sabine-to-8agby Promenade includes hundreds of native plantsandshrubs, allselected fortheirabilityto flourish in Houston's sometimes hotclimate andto survive occasional flooding. Ihe pedestrian walkways andbridges. water-conveyance structures, andotherhardscapes werecarefully designed to handle flooding butwithina greater context of enhancing thepark'sbeauty andcreating a welcoming safe atnosphere. lheteamadopted andalsoinnovated a number of techniques in CrimePrevention throughEnvironmental Design, anurban-design program thatanticipates andavoids creating areas thatareperceived asunsafgsuchasnotplantinglargebushes nextto sidewalks. Innovativehydrologyandstorm-waterengineering Hydraulic engineers worked closely nith thedesign teamso thattheaesthetics park, of the whichwerecriticalto overall acceptance andfundraising, wouldnotbecompromised. At juncturetthepmjea'srockwal15 numerous sweeping channels,andotherengineered provide structures design elements thatenhance bothformandfunction. Lightingrequiremenis with fewerneeds but moreetfectiveresults Lighting thepromenade wasa keyelement proto itssuccess, vidinga sense of safetytorevening hoursandalsoa sculptural artisticelement. Lighting waschosen positions forstrategic alongpathways butalsoto illuminate nearby nooksandcranniesthatmightbeperceived asunsafe.lhe teamalsoused lightfixtures inspired bya designusedonoil platforms in the Nonhsea,sothatHouston's floodswouldn'tcreate a massive problem. light-repair Duallightsalongpathsalsogiverepair crewstimeto fix occasional parkvisioutages withoutleaving torsin thedark.Lighting wasalsoa design attribute, and Houstonians whodon'twalkthepromenade butdrivebyit haveall seenitsimpact.Ihe concept wasto illuminate the bayoudifferently duringthe27-day lunarcycle. Bluelightsare at theirstrongest onbridges andmainareasduringtheda*er, phase. new-moon Butthebluelightsaretoneddowntoward phasein a patternthatradiates thefull-moon outfromAllen's Landing, thebinhplace of thecity. -Kevin Shanley
20
t.r,r..€ ,'""
lL' .
i\
M Ay
2or 9
:
beentransfbrmccl into a $t5 million,23 acrepublicpark, completervith grcenspaceand fish friendlyhabitat.Of course,it still servesasa high cirpacitystolm waterchanncl, helpirrgto alleviatethe potcntialfor devastating floods. Houstoniansnou'run and hike akrngits paths,canoeits waters,and enjoyconcertsand eventshclclthroughoutthe year Among the irlprovementsarc a dozennew pedestrianirccess pointsthat invitepeoplcinto the pirrk,a dranritic blue-to-whiteIightingsystemthat alsoenhirnces security, and nirtivelandscaping thal includesflood-resistant plants. Sayslbni Beauchamp, former chairofthc Ilullalo Bayou "Wc'retrying to pLrtthe bayoubackinto the Partnership: BayouCityl' The designofthe rvatersidc park asa green,rvcll lit, easv to-acccss, pedestrianpromcnadewasinteglatedinto !r highcr capacityfloodwaythat would sustainonly minor clatnagein most storns. It rvasput through a real test durinll 2008lsHurricanelke, nhose lain lrroughtvirtuall,veverl'part ofthe city'sstorm systemto capacitvaDdleft hugcswathsof the metroplexwithout powerlbr u'eeks.The promenade, holever, pertbrmedascxpected,and althoughit sustained somedamage,it wasbackin useu'ithin ciays. " fhe promenacle and the bayouirc quitepopularnord,' saysZaneSegal,a residentin :r livc work loft overkrokingthe promenade."l\n a runncr,and I go up antl down the bayou all the time. I even[sc it to tvalkto meetingsdowntolrn." Peoplewalk the ba,vouaftel concertsin thc waterliont amphitherterand at the \\klrtham Ccnterperforning arts
S g
;
F F complex."It'ssobeautifi j'saysresidentMarthapeterson. "It feelssafeand pleasantto walk there,eyenat night." WhenWatersRage For citieslargeand small,turning urban streamsinto parks
that double as high-throughput storm-water channels also servesa growing critical need: flood control. As cities have grown, especially the sprawling concreteand-culvert systemsthat dominate the United States,stormsewercapacitiessimply havenot kept up. Unlike other serv-
Evennow' infill developersconvertingthe lastacresof undevelopedland would ratherpusheverydrop ofrain offtheir buildings and off their property.But with a billion raindrops here,a billion there;pretty soona storm systemis overwhelmed. The urgentmessage is still relewnt: While progresshas beenmade,citiesmust adoptmeasuresto limit waterthat is shuntedoffa property,encoungewater-retentionponds, andleavenore exposedland, E R
9
E
x
e
t ices, such as freeways, utilities, and cable, water conveFnce can't improve with HOV lanes or high-speed DSL. In recent decades,public flood-control authorities in city after city have been raising alams about the increased risk of paving over land and shunting all rainwater into the storm sewer.
Gettingit Donein Houston How did the BuffaloBayouPromenadeget done?The bayou'slower urban portion, downstreamfrom Shepherd Street,hasbeengreenspacefor manyyears;it wasalready developedandmaintainedaspark space.In the 1980s,a small sectionfarther downstreamin downtownby the thennew WorthamTheaterwasirnprovedto becomeSesquicentennial Park Betweenthoseareas,roughly from Sabineto Bagby streets,the bayouturned under Interstate45, hiddenand neglected.Thirty yearslater,the Buffalo Bayoupartnership, a civic group whoseprivate-sectorleadershipgatheredthe seedfunding, focusedon this stretchasthe most important in overallregenerationeffort and dubbedit the Sabine-to-
BagbyPromenade.With the Buffalo Bayou Partnershipas the umbrella organization,other constituentswere brought to the table,and both public and private entitiescollaboratedto presentthel objectives,debatepotential solutions,and discussfunding and completion optiorrs. At a critical juncture, the Harris County Flood Control District joined the team,sinceflooding was a major current issue,and any improvementsto the bayou would alsohave to improve or at leastmaintain capaciryThe upsideto this agreementwas that additional funding would be available, not .iustparks money but also flood improvement funds. The TexasDepartment of Transportationand other agenciesalso becameproactiveparticipants.Downtown businessesand the growing back-to-downtown residentialpopulation sawthe value ofadded park spaceand becamesourcesofprivate-sec tor donations. "We try to seekout multiple sourcesoffunding, and the Harris County Flood Control District aswell as the Texas Department of Transportationboth understoodhow this effort could meet their objectives,tool' saysAnne Olson, executivedirector ofBuffalo Bayou Partnership."lt was somewhatunusual for the flood district to be involved in such a largedual-useprolect, but they were enlightened enough to seethat it would improve the floodway and create somethingspecialfor Houston as welll' Another key team member,Houston Parksand Recreation Department, coordinatedwith othersto integratethe promenade with the city'spark program and to enhancethe promenade plan. In June2008,the department'sboard and philanthropists Lee and loe famail funded a 92.7 million skatepark just offthe SabineStreetBridge."The skatepark hasbeen incredibly popular,with more than 55,000userssinceopeningi' saysfoe Turner, director of Houston Parksand Recreation Department.'Almost all ofour park projectsinvolve public private padnerships.It'sjust how we do businessin Houston." The next phaseofthe promenade,the Sabineto-Shepherd extension,is included in the Buffalo BayouPartnership's20year masterplan, a l0,square-mile district that will create850 acresofnew park spaceand trails reconnectingneighborhoods to the waterway.At severalpoints, the bayou's improvementswill be viewed from vistasthat enhancethe city's beautyaswell. The bayou park'sdual purpose is actuallywhat made the project succeedwhen none ofthe groupsinvolved-not parks, flood control, public-sectoragencies,philanthropists, environrnentalists,civic groups,or electedofficials-could haYepulled it offalone. Buffalo Bayou Partnership,the city ofHouston, and other constituentscontinue to plan and implement the 20-year vision for Buffalo Bayou.Work is alreadyunderway on improyementsthat will further enhancelife for Houstonians: more parks and less-dangerous flooding. ffR
Kevin M. Shantey is presidentof SWA Group, a landscapearchitectureand urban designfirm. Het received numerous awardsfor his work, including six national awardsfrom the Americrn Socieryof Landscape Architect.. Basedin Houston, Texas.Shanley speciaJizes in significant natural-:.y\tems projects,planned communities and town centers,large commercial proiects,and innovativetransportation prgects. This month he takesa look at Houston'snewly transformed Buffalo Bayou.
S hantey
t wasn'ttoo many decadesago that the Buffalo Bayou, which meanderstiom the rvestinto downtownHouston, was leit for dead. l'rash,pollution, anclfoul odors forced I I Ioustorlians to go the olhcr direction.Ironicallv,despitc I I thc lbxascityf rvidelyusednickname,'lhetlayouCitl', onl), a i-ewstretchesofthe rvater|ay and certainly none do$.ntown rvereused bv the public. One exception:The nnnualReekingRegattacanoeracethat wasaimedat draw i ng l l tcnl i oDto thc h.r1ou\pl i ght. 'Ihe bayouonceflor.rrished asa naturalwaterwayand even carriedbrothersAugustusand JohnAllen into its lowef rvherethey foundedthe city of Houstonin t 836. reaches, The spot, calledAllen'sLanding, is now a historic park at the edgeof dorvntou'n'shigh-rise offi ce buildings. As thc waterlronttradcrs'oulpostgrew up, railwayswere laid, roads rverepaved,and subdivisionssproutcd.llventu alil', an elevatedfreervayrvasbuilt a)ongthe bayou'spath, in part because it $'asone ofthe t'ewcorridorswithoutbuild ings.Houstonians rventon with their lives,givinglittle thougbtto the bayou.It waslike many urbanwaterwavs, a pollutedneglectedatierthought. Ilut toda),,Iluffalo Bayouis becoming a model ofwhat urbiln \\.aterh.ays should be. After a multiyear collaborative effirrt betrveenpublic and private interests,a ke,vstretchhas I I
. ; :: a ;i
' r MA /
2o or
19
18 p l n r s I
n e c R E A r r o N M Ay
2 o oe
A number of innovations andlessons mavbenefitotherstormwateFcum-Dark efforts: Top-level support,vision,andpatience Houston's effortcentered ona civicgroupforinitialfunding, anditsleadership maintained a strongvision. At thesame public-sector time, agencies became truepartners in thelongtermobiectives sothattheprojectmaintained momentum. Innovativeparkplanning,plantt hardscapes, andequipment the Sabine-to-8agby Promenade includes hundreds of native plantsandshrubs, allselected fortheirabilityto flourish in Houston's sometimes hotclimate andto survive occasional flooding. Ihe pedestrian walkways andbridges. water-conveyance structures, andotherhardscapes werecarefully designed to handle flooding butwithina greater context of enhancing thepark'sbeauty andcreating a welcoming safe atnosphere. lheteamadopted andalsoinnovated a number of techniques in CrimePrevention throughEnvironmental Design, anurban-design program thatanticipates andavoids creating areas thatareperceived asunsafgsuchasnotplantinglargebushes nextto sidewalks. Innovativehydrologyandstorm-waterengineering Hydraulic engineers worked closely nith thedesign teamso thattheaesthetics park, of the whichwerecriticalto overall acceptance andfundraising, wouldnotbecompromised. At juncturetthepmjea'srockwal15 numerous sweeping channels,andotherengineered provide structures design elements thatenhance bothformandfunction. Lightingrequiremenis with fewerneeds but moreetfectiveresults Lighting thepromenade wasa keyelement proto itssuccess, vidinga sense of safetytorevening hoursandalsoa sculptural artisticelement. Lighting waschosen positions forstrategic alongpathways butalsoto illuminate nearby nooksandcranniesthatmightbeperceived asunsafe.lhe teamalsoused lightfixtures inspired bya designusedonoil platforms in the Nonhsea,sothatHouston's floodswouldn'tcreate a massive problem. light-repair Duallightsalongpathsalsogiverepair crewstimeto fix occasional parkvisioutages withoutleaving torsin thedark.Lighting wasalsoa design attribute, and Houstonians whodon'twalkthepromenade butdrivebyit haveall seenitsimpact.Ihe concept wasto illuminate the bayoudifferently duringthe27-day lunarcycle. Bluelightsare at theirstrongest onbridges andmainareasduringtheda*er, phase. new-moon Butthebluelightsaretoneddowntoward phasein a patternthatradiates thefull-moon outfromAllen's Landing, thebinhplace of thecity. -Kevin Shanley
20
t.r,r..€ ,'""
lL' .
i\
M Ay
2or 9
:
beentransfbrmccl into a $t5 million,23 acrepublicpark, completervith grcenspaceand fish friendlyhabitat.Of course,it still servesasa high cirpacitystolm waterchanncl, helpirrgto alleviatethe potcntialfor devastating floods. Houstoniansnou'run and hike akrngits paths,canoeits waters,and enjoyconcertsand eventshclclthroughoutthe year Among the irlprovementsarc a dozennew pedestrianirccess pointsthat invitepeoplcinto the pirrk,a dranritic blue-to-whiteIightingsystemthat alsoenhirnces security, and nirtivelandscaping thal includesflood-resistant plants. Sayslbni Beauchamp, former chairofthc Ilullalo Bayou "Wc'retrying to pLrtthe bayoubackinto the Partnership: BayouCityl' The designofthe rvatersidc park asa green,rvcll lit, easv to-acccss, pedestrianpromcnadewasinteglatedinto !r highcr capacityfloodwaythat would sustainonly minor clatnagein most storns. It rvasput through a real test durinll 2008lsHurricanelke, nhose lain lrroughtvirtuall,veverl'part ofthe city'sstorm systemto capacitvaDdleft hugcswathsof the metroplexwithout powerlbr u'eeks.The promenade, holever, pertbrmedascxpected,and althoughit sustained somedamage,it wasbackin useu'ithin ciays. " fhe promenacle and the bayouirc quitepopularnord,' saysZaneSegal,a residentin :r livc work loft overkrokingthe promenade."l\n a runncr,and I go up antl down the bayou all the time. I even[sc it to tvalkto meetingsdowntolrn." Peoplewalk the ba,vouaftel concertsin thc waterliont amphitherterand at the \\klrtham Ccnterperforning arts
S g
;
F F complex."It'ssobeautifi j'saysresidentMarthapeterson. "It feelssafeand pleasantto walk there,eyenat night." WhenWatersRage For citieslargeand small,turning urban streamsinto parks
that double as high-throughput storm-water channels also servesa growing critical need: flood control. As cities have grown, especially the sprawling concreteand-culvert systemsthat dominate the United States,stormsewercapacitiessimply havenot kept up. Unlike other serv-
Evennow' infill developersconvertingthe lastacresof undevelopedland would ratherpusheverydrop ofrain offtheir buildings and off their property.But with a billion raindrops here,a billion there;pretty soona storm systemis overwhelmed. The urgentmessage is still relewnt: While progresshas beenmade,citiesmust adoptmeasuresto limit waterthat is shuntedoffa property,encoungewater-retentionponds, andleavenore exposedland, E R
9
E
x
e
t ices, such as freeways, utilities, and cable, water conveFnce can't improve with HOV lanes or high-speed DSL. In recent decades,public flood-control authorities in city after city have been raising alams about the increased risk of paving over land and shunting all rainwater into the storm sewer.
Gettingit Donein Houston How did the BuffaloBayouPromenadeget done?The bayou'slower urban portion, downstreamfrom Shepherd Street,hasbeengreenspacefor manyyears;it wasalready developedandmaintainedaspark space.In the 1980s,a small sectionfarther downstreamin downtownby the thennew WorthamTheaterwasirnprovedto becomeSesquicentennial Park Betweenthoseareas,roughly from Sabineto Bagby streets,the bayouturned under Interstate45, hiddenand neglected.Thirty yearslater,the Buffalo Bayoupartnership, a civic group whoseprivate-sectorleadershipgatheredthe seedfunding, focusedon this stretchasthe most important in overallregenerationeffort and dubbedit the Sabine-to-
BagbyPromenade.With the Buffalo Bayou Partnershipas the umbrella organization,other constituentswere brought to the table,and both public and private entitiescollaboratedto presentthel objectives,debatepotential solutions,and discussfunding and completion optiorrs. At a critical juncture, the Harris County Flood Control District joined the team,sinceflooding was a major current issue,and any improvementsto the bayou would alsohave to improve or at leastmaintain capaciryThe upsideto this agreementwas that additional funding would be available, not .iustparks money but also flood improvement funds. The TexasDepartment of Transportationand other agenciesalso becameproactiveparticipants.Downtown businessesand the growing back-to-downtown residentialpopulation sawthe value ofadded park spaceand becamesourcesofprivate-sec tor donations. "We try to seekout multiple sourcesoffunding, and the Harris County Flood Control District aswell as the Texas Department of Transportationboth understoodhow this effort could meet their objectives,tool' saysAnne Olson, executivedirector ofBuffalo Bayou Partnership."lt was somewhatunusual for the flood district to be involved in such a largedual-useprolect, but they were enlightened enough to seethat it would improve the floodway and create somethingspecialfor Houston as welll' Another key team member,Houston Parksand Recreation Department, coordinatedwith othersto integratethe promenade with the city'spark program and to enhancethe promenade plan. In June2008,the department'sboard and philanthropists Lee and loe famail funded a 92.7 million skatepark just offthe SabineStreetBridge."The skatepark hasbeen incredibly popular,with more than 55,000userssinceopeningi' saysfoe Turner, director of Houston Parksand Recreation Department.'Almost all ofour park projectsinvolve public private padnerships.It'sjust how we do businessin Houston." The next phaseofthe promenade,the Sabineto-Shepherd extension,is included in the Buffalo BayouPartnership's20year masterplan, a l0,square-mile district that will create850 acresofnew park spaceand trails reconnectingneighborhoods to the waterway.At severalpoints, the bayou's improvementswill be viewed from vistasthat enhancethe city's beautyaswell. The bayou park'sdual purpose is actuallywhat made the project succeedwhen none ofthe groupsinvolved-not parks, flood control, public-sectoragencies,philanthropists, environrnentalists,civic groups,or electedofficials-could haYepulled it offalone. Buffalo Bayou Partnership,the city ofHouston, and other constituentscontinue to plan and implement the 20-year vision for Buffalo Bayou.Work is alreadyunderway on improyementsthat will further enhancelife for Houstonians: more parks and less-dangerous flooding. ffR
Kevin M. Shantey is presidentof SWA Group, a landscapearchitectureand urban designfirm. Het received numerous awardsfor his work, including six national awardsfrom the Americrn Socieryof Landscape Architect.. Basedin Houston, Texas.Shanley speciaJizes in significant natural-:.y\tems projects,planned communities and town centers,large commercial proiects,and innovativetransportation prgects. This month he takesa look at Houston'snewly transformed Buffalo Bayou.
