Summary:
The City of Champaign and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign collaborated to develop a master plan for Boneyard Creek, an important waterway draining much of the city which had been impaired by serious channelization, erosion, and poor water quality. The green infrastructure approach utilized increased flooding resilience to one-hundred-year events and provided ten acres of public space serving to connect the city.
Project:
Boneyard Creek drains a large part of the city of Champaign, including the Campustown area surrounding the University of Illinois and the city’s central business district. Due to flooding and water quality issues, the city and university developed a multiphase master plan to restore some of the creek’s ecological functions and provide increased flood protection. A detention basin was installed to provide 100-year flood protection and the meanders of the highly channelized creek were recreated using natural stone terraces for erosion control. Winding trails were installed along the creek to provide recreational spaces and better connect the university, downtown, and nearby Scott Park.
The Boneyard green infrastructure project was identified as a key improvement area in Champaign’s master plan. There was limited public engagement during the initial phase of the project, as the surrounding structures are primarily student housing with transitional populations. Instead, the university was engaged to collaborate and provide feedback on the design. Public engagement meetings have been held as the next phases of the project are being planned in residential areas outside of the university campus.
Overall, the project was successful because of buy-in and funding from multiple stakeholders. The university and the city collaborated with the planning and permitting effort. The project was funded by tax increment financing, city capital improvement monies, and green infrastructure grants through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Lessons Learned:
On the implementation end, there was some pushback from the decision to use native vegetation, which was uncommon to see in Champaign’s green spaces at the time of construction (2006-2008). It was also difficult to find highly qualified contractors to install natives at that time, and dozens of the young native trees were lost during the 2009 drought. Both the city and landscape contractors have learned better native establishment and management strategies as a result.
Entities Involved:
City of Champaign
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Hitchcock Design Group
Green Resiliency: 