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Parks staff outline median maintenance plan, caution limits to 'zero‑water' conversions
Summary
Parks staff presented a median maintenance plan covering about 55 acres of medians, described maintenance frequencies, safety protocols, irrigation constraints in narrow medians and proposed pilot low‑water demonstration sites; committee provided feedback and staff agreed to pursue pilots and outreach.
Parks planner Tara Bradley and park superintendent Mark Moffett presented a median maintenance plan to the Sustainability Committee that covers roughly 55 acres of city medians. The plan sets maintenance frequencies and tasks (mowing, weeding, irrigation, litter control, seasonal plantings), inspection and safety protocols for staff working near traffic, and community outreach steps to inform residents before maintenance or plant changes.
Bradley said the plan is a living document that can be updated as staff gains experience and receives citizen input. Moffett described site constraints that limit the use of strictly low‑water ("zero‑water") species in medians: heat transfer from surrounding concrete, narrow median widths that contain utilities and mainlines, and prior damage by utility contractors that complicates irrigation installs. He said some narrow medians under a city policy (late 1990s) are expected to be concrete or otherwise treated when under six feet wide, which limits planting options.
Planting strategy and irrigation: staff described a preference for Bermuda and centipede varieties in open medians, use of crepe myrtles and drought‑tolerant shrubs for color, and staged watering schedules that vary with temperature to minimize waste. Moffett said a central irrigation control system would reduce runtime and improve efficiency but that funding is required to implement citywide central control.
Public feedback and pilots: committee members urged pilot projects and demonstration sites to show low‑water landscaping (nominating a park median at Valley View and Webb's Chapel as an example). Staff agreed to study demonstration conversions and to coordinate with Public Works on any required electrical or irrigation repairs before conversions.
Next steps: staff will continue design work for Valley View and other medians, pursue necessary utility coordination and report back with cost estimates and pilot proposals. The committee did not vote on any specific changes to the median plan at this meeting.
