Hermosa Beach Pier Avenue LID Improvements

The City of Hermosa Beach hired RRM Design Group for the redesign of a section of its downtown corridor. The Pier Avenue improvement project, which broke ground in early January 2010, created a pedestrian-oriented environment with traffic calming features such as safe mid-block crossings at regional transit centers and retail areas along the avenue; bike boulevard “sharrows” for access to the City’s greenway and coastal trail; and new sidewalks with street trees that provide shading for new seating areas. Additional design elements include 85-watt induction street lights that significantly reduce energy use, as well as solar-powered warning flashers for mid-block pedestrian crossings. RRM also developed art and gateway elements to celebrate Hermosa Beach as a cultural center for some of surfing’s famous icons.

This innovative project incorporates a green streets program and a revolutionary storm drain system. The City received nearly $1.3 million in Federal Recovery Act (economic stimulus) funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and State Water Resources Control Board to implement the low impact system. The “green street” design addresses existing flooding problems and reduces and cleans stormwater runoff, the most common cause of coastal pollutants, from contaminating the nearby beach. In addition to the storm water system, a new reclaimed water main has been installed which provides irrigation of the new drought-tolerant landscaping.