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City of San Pablo │ Wildcat Creek Stream Restoration and Trail and Park Design Project
City of San Pablo
This project design incorporated both natural looking materials and bioengineered creek bank restoration alternatives to remove invasive plants and hardened channel banks.
A portion of the trail was wedged very tightly between the creek channel and private property, so a prefabricated bridge was used to navigate through this tight spot. The bridge was less costly and impactful to creek riparian habitat, did not require costly and time consuming ROW acquisition, and added a placemaking spot to the trail.
Project Description
The approximately 900-foot stretch of Wildcat Creek just east of 23rd Street in the City of San Pablo was heavily impacted by dense urban development nearby. Its bed and banks were paved, aquatic and riparian habitat was lacking, and dense stands of invasive vegetation covered the tops of the banks. The City wanted to improve the physical and ecological condition of this stretch of stream and create a pocket park and multi-use trail for the community.
Through an iterative and creative approach NCE prepared a design that achieved the City’s desired outcomes and substantially improved the creek’s condition and habitat. The channel bottom and banks were restored from concrete to natural substrate with stabilized vegetation, and invasive species were replaced with riparian plantings and native, drought-tolerant upland vegetation. In addition, a new accessible lighted trail, picnic areas, interpretative signage, and a variety of seating opportunities all provide an improved opportunity for transit and recreation along the urban creek corridor.
NCE provided landscape architectural design, stream rehabilitation planning, civil engineering, community engagement, and agency coordination and permitting services.
