A flood-proof park, at least in theory, may be heading to New York City at some time in the future, it has been revealed.
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East Side Coastal Resiliency Project[/caption]
Effects of global climate change
In large part due to the effects of global climate change, the world seems to be witnessing unprecedented levels of flooding. The park is planned for the city's East River.
The 26km waterway, which is relatively narrow, connects and separates portions of the five major boroughs of the New York City (Manhattan; Brooklyn; Queens; the Bronx; and Staten Island), connecting Long Island Sound to the north and Upper New York Bay to the south.
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East Side Coastal Resiliency Project[/caption]
Part of this impressive strait is the East River Park, a 57-acre waterfront park with imagery as symbolic for the city as the Empire State Building.
The scheme for the park involves the ambitious task of simultaneously providing the storm surge protection while still giving residents and visitors access to the waterfront.
However, from an engineering standpoint, the urgent question always becomes 'Yes, but how will it work?'
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East Side Coastal Resiliency Project[/caption]
Opposition from the local community
The project, appropriately named the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), faced some opposition from the local community — namely,
Community Board 3 of Manhattan — which raised some key concerns about access and feasibility.
Initially part of the much larger
Big U project, a project that was to cover a 16km stretch of Manhattan. ESCR, instead, covers a smaller and more manageable portion of the same area.
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East Side Coastal Resiliency Project[/caption]
Based on the
comprehensive feedback by the Board given on March 27, 2018, their plans, in fact, have already received some adjustments, some of which include allowing more space for a pedestrian bridge, an added bridge with greater access, as well as increasing the overall number of stairs and ramps throughout the space.
The initial designs call for the combination of traditional levees, flood walls, as well as earthen levees which will provide movable gate protection with a more natural-looking design without sacrificing aesthetics. Beyond this, there is roughly 11 additional blocks of green space that is also being planned for the expanded area.
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East Side Coastal Resiliency Project[/caption]
Conceived around the possibility of an anticipated 0.76m rise in sea levels
One of the most striking features of the design is that it was conceived around the possibility of an anticipated 0.76m rise in sea levels that will gradually occur over the next three decades.
The project is slated to to be completed by 2024, and a large part of what the project will need to get the green light to move forward is delivering a strong environmental impact statement to the city, which is due in July 2018.
With a groundbreaking planned for next year, approval for the multi-million-dollar project (with $400 million, or the equivalent of about €330 million, coming from the City of New York and $335 million coming from the United States federal government) is crucial.
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East Side Coastal Resiliency Project[/caption]
In the end, the strength of the project — far-sighted planning — can in some ways be viewed as the biggest flaw. Engineers will cite the forward-thinking and wise planning behind the structure as an asset, while environmentalists and city dwellers will no doubt continue to advocate for more space, more access and fewer restrictions.
Hopefully, in the end, a compromise that satisfies all parties can be reached.
This article is reproduced with kind permission from InterestingEngineering.com. Find the link to the original article here.