Merit Award

Sausal Creek Restoration

Dimond Park, Oakland, CA

Restoration Design Group, Inc.

Lead Landscape Architect: Erik Stromberg, ASLA Restoration Design Group, Inc.

Client: Watershed and Stormwater Management Division, Bureau of Design and Construction, Public Works Department, City of Oakland

A failing culvert in a popular city park had blocked fish passage in a critical urban trout stream for over half a century. The creek banks were unravelling and the owner wanted to rehabilitate the park along the length of the stream. The Sausal Creek Restoration Project (Project) features 800 feet of improved creek habitat including better visibility of the creek, an American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible interpretive pedestrian pathway, enhanced native rainbow trout habitat, new native trees and vegetation, and a new public restroom. The Project also improves water quality and flood control, reduces erosion, and helps protect the adjacent roadway and homes.