After major floods devastated Glendale, California in the 1930s, much of the Verdugo Wash became a concrete channel — a boundary dividing communities. Now, landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) is leading the development of a new Verdugo Wash master plan, which will re-envision the 9.4-mile-long tributary of the Los Angeles River as a new linear park or trail system.
The three-year planning process will result in a toolkit of project options for the city to explore. The new plan will enable community connections to the wash and offer ways to restore its ecosystems, while preserving its ability to protect Glendale from floods. The effort is being funded by a California Department of Transportation grant.
“Bringing stormwater infrastructure, flood control, ecological restoration, urban connectivity, and park making together, the Verdugo Wash Master Plan is an incredible opportunity for the region,” said Paul Seck, PLA, partner and chief operating officer at MVVA.
MVVA has assembled a multidisciplinary team to “study the complex technical issues that would be associated with any changes to the wash,” said Ryoma Tominaga, PLA, project manager with MVVA. “We look forward to working with oversight agencies and local stakeholders, such as the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, to craft feasible approaches.”
The diversity of the team MVVA assembled shows the complexity of the work. Landscape architects will be working with Kimley-Horn, Inter-Fluve, and Limnotech on hydrology and stream morphology; HR&A on market research, Dyson and Womack on public art; Gardiner & Theobald on cost estimates; and Chief Strategies on community engagement. And Schlaich Bergermann Partner will consult on walkways and bridges, Rock Design Associates on wildlife corridor planning, Rincon on biological resources, and Stratifyx on ecological design.
MVVA will start the ambitious planning effort by engaging the community, working with Chief Strategies to host a “range of community outreach events, such as workshops in different neighborhoods, site tours, and pop-up booths at city events,” the firm notes. This work builds on the Verdugo Wash visioning report from 2022, which was led by landscape architecture firm !melk and engineering firm BuroHappold.
The Verdugo Wash begins in the Crescenta Valley, passing between the Verdugo Mountains and the San Rafael Hills before joining with the Los Angeles River. Much of its natural elements have been replaced with a concrete flood control channel that ranges in width from 24 feet at its narrowest to 87 feet at its widest.
Through their planning process, MVVA and its team will explore the wash’s role in managing flooding, debris flows, and wildfires. “Although it is typically a low volume waterway, the wash provides an essential flood control function, managing high volumes during flash floods and debris flows,” Tominaga said. The new plan recommendations will need to “accommodate these extremes, while also identifying ways to expand public access and recreation and ecological improvements, including the potential for improved biodiversity.”
And “any projects recommended by the master plan will be phased in over time. It is possible the plan will identify some areas of the wash as unsuited for additional uses other than its current flood control function,” Tominaga said.