The strategies specific to street layout in this proposal are meant to be implemented at a broader scale, and are not limited to this area only. They anticipate the future vision and ideology of a green city which is not simply pedestrian nor simply vehicular, but finds a logical in-between.
9+4 Green strives to re-interpret the idea of ‘street’ and ‘intersection’ by re-organizing the street layouts of 9th street and 4th Avenue. From many lanes of traffic in addition to street parking on both streets, the proposal reduces each street to 2 lanes with one lane flowing in each necessary direction. 9th Street, which hosts primarily personal cars and public buses, will be mostly unaffected by this change. 4th avenue, however, which shares its vehicular space with trucks, will benefit greatly from this reduction. One lane flowing in each direction will help to slop down the often speeding cars and trucks which populate the current wide avenue. Assisting in this effort to curb speed is the introduction of a circular, grassy median. The median will force vehicles to slow down as they navigate around it.
Bike lanes are situated between cars and pedestrians. Their space is delineated by a surface composed of porous pavers. Along 9th street, this surface of porous pavers is shared with public buses.
The space under the bridge is completely reconfigured. Its new asymmetrical layout creates a much needed large public space to the south-east for gatherings and a farmer’s market. Its ground surface is brick paving. Its ceiling surface is a series of LED strips which illuminate the space. These LEDs derive their energy from PV panels located on the bridges roof. During the day, excess energy gathered from the PV panels is stored in batteries housed with the train station. This energy is later used at night to power the LEDs. With a new lit underside to the bridge, the space will become significantly safer.
The bridge facades are re-surfaced with a green-wall system. In the summer they will help to create a cooler micro climate around the bridge and the anticipated events happening under it. But most importantly, this green dress will be a beacon for the neighborhood which at a certain moment, stood up and decided to promote livings systems over steel and people over cars.