2009 VA ASLA Awards

Analysis & Planning Professional - Thalia Creek Greenway Master Plan

 

Honor Award 

Project:  Thalia Creek Greenway Master Plan
Landscape Architect: Land Studio pc; Carol Rizzio, CLA, AICP; Bill Spivey, RLA
Cllient: City of Virginia Beach, Parks and Recreation 

The Thalia Creek Greenway Master Plan merges original open space concepts with current realities and establishes a recreational structure in and around Central Business District of Virginia Beach. The master planning process and final document produced focuses on achieving the following four goals: Consensus Building, Development of a Network of Trails, Preservation of the Thalia Creek Corridor, and Identification of Implementation Tools and Techniques.

Thalia Creek and its surrounding wetlands make up some of the last remaining open space and natural habitat in the Central Business District (CBD). At its widest point, the creek corridor spans over 400-feet allowing the creek channel to freely meander. Much of the creek is easily navigable by canoe/kayak and is a pristine wetland environment. Thalia Creek is plagued by many of the same symptoms of degradation found throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

This greenway master plan is the detailed formulation of a broader concept to bring the open space qualities and environs of the Thalia Creek Corridor into the Central Business District of Virginia Beach. The greenway network is comprised of multiple components: a primary greenway corridor and its more natural trail section, a secondary urban trail segments, several trailheads/neighborhood linkages, and needed open space.

The master plan is the direct result of a detailed analysis, influenced by input from numerous stakeholders and citizens, that guided the development of the plan, built consensuses, and community collaboration. The plan identifies a variety of funding and development alternatives available along with phasing priorities, preliminary cost estimates, and land acquisition alternatives to move the greenway implementation forward.

Jury comments:
- Excellent concept
- Phasing is practical but also looks to future uses and transportation forms
- Engages ideas outside of immediate focus area.