Agenda - City of Santa Monica

streetscape and continuing the line of Metro signature palm trees on both sides of 4 th
Street to further reinforce north south connections, to integrate better with the Metro
station and to provide orientation and wayfinding elements along the pedestrian
route to and from the station and Downtown. Funding: The 4 th Street / Colorado
Avenue intersection improvements are included in the core project. The original
RFP for the Colorado Esplanade Design identified the need to strengthen
connections north and south between the Civic Center and Downtown by
encouraging the designer to look outside the Metro grant project boundaries for
areas or elements to enhance connections. PWP has designed a widened sidewalk
on 4 th Street north of Colorado to strengthen the connection from the station to
Downtown; however, based on funding limitations, the 4 th Street improvements north
and south of the intersection are not included in the core project. C ity staff has
applied for a separate Metro grant to complete these improvements in the future.
2. Colorado Avenue, between 4 th and 5 th Streets: The interface between the station
and the Colorado Esplanade occurs most directly on the block of Colorado between
4 th and 5 th Streets. Therefore, the coordination between two separate projects,
Expo’s light rail station and the City’s Colorado Esplanade, were central to creating a
seamless pedestrian experience. For schedule and coordination efficiencies due to
Expo’s limits of construction on Colorado, the south sidewalk pavers, the cycle track,
the roadway and the string lights on both sides of Colorado are being incorporated
into the City’s betterment for the Expo 4 th Street Station project. The north sidewalk,
also designed with the Esplanade street tree and custom pavers, is outside of the
Expo construction limit and would therefore need to be constructed by the City or by
adjacent property owners, either in close coordination with Expo, or after Expo
construction activities have concluded.
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