Plan to upgrade medians in Fountain Valley is revealed

Fountain Valley has rolled out its eight-year, $8.3-million master plan to re-landscape medians along the city’s major streets.

The plan calls for drought-friendly plants and trees, artful use of rocks and several new “gateway” signs at major intersections, starting next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Brookhurst Street would be first in line for a facelift at close to $650,000.

Public works staff presented a preview of the plan during a City Council study session Tuesday.

Proposed looks range from dense, flowering species to shrubby grasses. The refreshed medians would include existing trees where possible.

“Turf looks nice, but those days are gone,” noted Councilwoman Cheryl Brothers.

Brothers said she preferred the dense schemes because of their ability to thwart the risky practice of jaywalking. But she asked why the tentative schedule had Edinger Street not getting re-landscaped for three years, even though the street is currently being repaved between Brookhurst and Euclid streets.

Mayor John Collins also said he liked the dense plantings.

In addition to new plant life, the plan proposes 10 new masonry gateway signs like the ones on Brookhurst at Garfield and Edinger — the prominent welcome signs that declare Fountain Valley “A Nice Place to Live” — at a cost of $25,000 each. Several would replace the smaller plastic gateway signs, such as the ones currently standing on posts along Magnolia Street at Warner and Garfield.

The most would be spent — at an estimated cost of $2 million — on the three-mile stretch of Warner Avenue between Magnolia and the Santa Ana River. The improvements there would include a desert-like palette of crushed granite, boulders and pebble mosaics with palo verde trees alongside the existing pines, plus two new gateway signs. That work is planned for 2021-22.

For a more detailed look at the proposed landscapes and timeline, visit bit.ly/2o5l3BC.

Proposed re-landscaping timeline

* estimated

Source: City of Fountain Valley

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