WMAIA 2020 Design Awards
HONOR AWARD – Landscape
PLACE Alliance, Amherst, MA
Following devastating flooding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in the Village of Sidney, New York, PLACE Alliance helped lead recovery planning effort through an intensive multi-day design workshop, engaging with local stakeholders and state and local regulatory officials.
The streetscape project focused on a green infrastructure system that collects stormwater from Main Street and the adjacent sidewalk into a network of pre-treatment catch basins, rain gardens, and a subsurface stormwater reservoir. Main Street now captures and temporarily holds 190,000 gallons of runoff.
Strategically located bump-outs and narrowing the street width help slow traffic, create safer pedestrian crossings, and space for larger rain gardens. Plant species were chosen for their ability to tolerate drought, flood, freezing, and salt.
The project is a catalyst to spur economic development and help revitalize the downtown commercial area.
