



San Mateo County Sustainable Green Streets and Parking Lots Design Guidebook
San Mateo County, California
In 2008, the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program (SMCWPPP) led the development of a technical stormwater design guidebook that will help 21 local municipalities implement demonstration green street and sustainable parking lot projects. This 180-page guidebook provides a green street design “tool box” that gives local designers and policy makers multiple options for using stormwater swales, stormwater planters, “green” gutters, pervious paving, stormwater curb extensions, and rain gardens in ultra-urban and residential land use applications. Strong emphasis is also placed on creating pedestrian friendly streetscapes and the use of alternative transportation such as transit and bicycling. The guidebook contains technical green street design information as well as user-friendly design graphics and language, including a series of “before and after” perspective sketches of potential green street retrofit projects. The San Mateo County Sustainable Green Streets and Parking Lots Design Guidebook which received the 2009 California American Planning Association’s Outstanding Planning Award for “Innovation in Green Community Planning” and a 2011 National ASLA Design of Honor Award. Kevin Robert Perry was the lead author for this project while working at NNA Landscape Architecture.