The City of Signal Hill will be redesigning its street medians in the coming years, replacing hardscaping and landscaping to improve aesthetics and water-efficiency.
In June 2022, the Street Median Project was included in the biannual 2022-2024 fiscal year budget. The Signal Tribune called Public Works Director Thomas Bekele thrice to ask how much money the City had allocated for the project, but did not receive a reply by print time on Wednesday, May 24.
City staff said the Street Median Project will be completed in phases over multiple years, but did not specify how many years.
In January, the City of Signal Hill entered into a contract with SWA Group, a landscape architecture firm, to conduct public outreach and come up with designs for the medians.
The 45 street medians in Signal Hill were divided into the following five categories:
- Type A – Small medians on small streets with one to two palm trees and City of Signal Hill signs, placed at entrances to the city.
- Type B – Medium to large medians with narrow sides and a wider area for plants in the center. These medians are mostly found along Willow Street and Cherry Avenue.
- Type C – Medium-sized medians that are wide and usually have trees.
- Type D – Narrow medians with minimal or no plants.
- Type E – Small medians with no vegetation, often at a crosswalk.
City staff said it may not be feasible to add irrigation or plants to Type E medians, but their surface may be refreshed.
Jeremy Klemic of SWA Group explained multiple changes that would be made to the medians during the city council meeting on May 23, which include the following:
- Replacing “riprap” hardscaping—rounded stones on the ground surface—with different types of hardscape or plants. The large stones on the ground currently pose a potential safety hazard to city maintenance workers, who might trip on them.
- Replacing the brick edging of some medians with different hardscapes or plants. The brick edging is currently in poor condition.
- The addition or replacement of “understory planting,” low-lying foliage like bushes, to medians that currently don’t have any or have plants in poor condition.
- Evaluating trees for health, and replacing those in poor condition.
- Replacing damaged and faded signage.
SWA Group held an event at the Signal Hill Public Library in April and created an online survey to gauge what plants residents prefer to see in the medians. Around 40 people showed up to the event at the library, and around 30 people took the online survey, Klemic said.
The most common tree species currently found in street medians in Signal Hill is Liquidambar, a deciduous tree native to parts of the U.S. South, Midwest and Latin America.
The four tree species that received the most votes from residents were the Crepe Myrtle, Santa Cruz Ironwood, Marina Madrone and Red Push Pistache. All four trees are appropriate for the local climate, according to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The public was also asked about what type of understory planting they wanted for the street medians, and were given the environments the plants come from rather than the specific names of the plants. The four most popular plant palettes residents voted for were Colorful Native, Coastal Sage Garden, Arroyo Meadow and California Water Wise.
Klemic said that based on the data gathered, it appeared that residents gravitated towards colorful, native, climate-ready and low-water plants. Residents also seemed to have a preference for trees that serve as habitats for native animals.
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