Working with the residents and the City of Shoreline, MxM team members developed plans to retrofit 17th Avenue NE as a green street between 145th Street NE and 150th Street NE. This green street retrofit pilot project improved the street’s environmental performance, and provided a successful testing ground for the City of Shoreline to develop protocols and procedures to retrofit their entire street network with new bioretention facilities, swales and other stormwater infrstrucuture.

Through extensive public outreach, including two facilitated public meetings, the community was able to provide specific recommendations about the project. In order to keep costs within budget, a variety of strategies were deployed to lower consultant and contractor fees, thereby building affordability and replicability into the process. Additionally, the assets of the street—the existing trees, vegetation and a sense of neighborhood character—were built upon to create a design that included a variety of low impact development demonstration techniques including porous pavements, reduction of impervious surfaces, bioretention cells, and rain gardens within the right-of-way.

This process and these types of projects, were subsequently funded as the Shoreline Greenworks program and MxM team members developed native planting plans for right of way retrofits across the city.

Project completed by Brice Maryman while at MIG