The Island concept uses the creation of an island to provide a unique moment in the River where the public can experience the River up close. In this concept, the existing power lines and towers are relocated to an alignment on the east side of the Project site to allow for the reshaping of the site’s western edge. The River channel is then re-formed to create an island that separates river flows, mimics fluvial geomorphic processes of deposition and erosion, and provides multiple layers of riparian and upland habitat consistent with the objectives of the ARBOR Study. The forms and geometries of this concept reinterpret the City’s historic modes of managing the river – channel, bridge, and a long paseo – and overlay those tools with a more porous and naturalized approach. From the island, the site moves eastwards as a series of contiguous ecologies that allow for the blending of scientific research, programmed areas, recreation, and habitat.
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