Updated 10:40 a.m.: Santa Monica is spending like they're the one percent, throwing money at all kinds of accoutrements for two new downtown parks, the Palisades Garden Walk and the Town Square Park, which lie between City Hall and Ocean Ave. The Santa Monica Mirror reports that the city council recently approved plans and some accessories for both parks, and in the case of Town Square Park, did so against the strong suggestions of the city's Landmarks Commission. (The Commission wanted decorative bricks at the City Hall entryway and park pathways, but the Council said TSP can go ahead without them).
The City directed staff to start the construction documents so the major work can begin in June and wrap by fall 2013 (early work has begun at PGW). Aside from all that grass, parts of Main Street abutting both parks will get "new street trees, street lighting, a redesigned median, and a raised crosswalk between the southern edge of the Main Street Bridge and Olympic Drive." The streetlights seems extra fancy, with an "elegant arc shaped pole with a double luminaire, one directed to the sidewalk for pedestrians and the other to the street."
Landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with Peter Walker Partners; (Peter Walker Partners is solely working on improvements to Colorado between the Expo Terminus Station and the Pier entrance) will also help widen sidewalks on Main and build that raised crosswalk--six inches higher--across the street so drivers can better see pedestrians (will cars simply drive over that half-foot?). Finally, designer Iñigo Manglano-OvalleIñigo is working on a public art project for PGW, but it won't be an homage to the beach. Picture "a sculptural 'weather field' consisting of a tightly grouped field of vertical poles, with each pole supporting weather instrumentation for measuring wind direction and speed."
· Santa Monica City Council Grants Town Square Park Appeal [SM Mirror]
· Work Starting on Field Operation's Big SM Park [Curbed LA]
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