13 4. Identify Green Infrastructure Opportunities Where should green infrastructure be installed in parks? Below are some ideas to get the most benefit from green infrastructure at your site. Capture Runoff Look for opportunities where runoff from park land and adjacent rights-of-way can be directed to pervious park spaces or other green features designed to retain stormwater. For example: • Use curb cuts to direct water from roadways to landscaping or other pervious areas. • Create a vegetated swale along the perimeter of the property with ornamental shrubs, grasses, and other landscaping elements to collect and infiltrate offsite run-on or runoff. • Build a rain garden to capture runoff and feature plants that attract butterflies or birds. Case Study: Treating Offsite Runoff at Hunter Point South Waterfront Park Long Island City, New York Hunter Point South Waterfront Park, in Queens, New York, is a 5.5-acre park located directly on the waterfront in a former industrial area of Long Island City. The park provides a multi-use open space that incorporates an array of design features to encourage recreational activities, manage stormwater, and conserve water and power. Figure 5. Hunter Point South Waterfront Park. (Source: ESTO) Hunter Point South Waterfront Park includes a multiuse, grassy oval framed by a continuous path and a pleated steel roof shade pavilion. The oval field serves as a landscaped play area for most of the year, but it can also handle storm surges on the floodprone site. Adjacent to the oval, a canopied pavilion houses Parks Department offices, restrooms, and a café. The structure is designed to withstand uplift in case of flooding, and its roof directs rainwater into bioswales that manage stormwater onsite. The park also features a play area, basketball courts, adult fitness facilities, a children’s playground, and a dog run. At the park’s perimeter, a bioretention area filters stormwater from the new Center Boulevard and surrounding streets, minimizing impacts on the city’s drainage infrastructure. Photovoltaic panels located on the pleated roof of the pavilion generate 37,000 kWh per year, powering more than half of the park’s energy needs.
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