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The Chula Vista Civic Center Streetscape Improvements implement key aspects of a Master Plan developed by RNL in 2002. The Master Plan provided a management strategy for a growing southern California City looking to balance its current and future civic space needs. The streetscape improvements create strong visual and pedestrian connections between existing civic buildings, a new police headquarters, and a notable city park. The enhancements define a one block gateway to the civic center and link those elements to a nearby downtown commercial district as part of a miles-long trail system focused on the civic center.

Landscape strategies include generously planted medians to break down bland expanses of roadway paving. The design incorporates a continuous green, tree-lined ground plane between the downtown civic and commercial regions lending a distinctive character to the route. This strategy included protection of culturally significant mature trees along the corridor. The project involved traffic calming improvements to quiet the visitor’s experience and vivify its sense of place. In the streetscape, dense tree plantings and rejuvenated sidewalks combine with monuments and enriched pavement at key intersections to distinguish it as an enlightened civic district.