A COMMUNITY CONNECTED: 2012-2014 BUDGET CITY OF WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA
14
Taking care of what we’ve got 69
175
Buildings
Vehicles
213 miles
4,172
480,000
Parks (total of 249 acres)
2,704
250
Feet of storm drain
Acres of open space
200
1.6 million
9 miles
150
Feet of curb and gutter
of paved trails
171 miles
150
43 miles
100
of street markings (e.g. yellow lines on roads)
Mowers, equipment items
A green perspective
22
of Streets
Catch basins
of unpaved trails in open space
50
0
11,730
Trees (and counting) the city takes care of
Stewardship of The Natural and Built Environment
9,500
Traffic-related signs
1,880
City-owned street lights
97
Signalized intersections
“If people paid attention to the plant world, they would be amazed. Plants are like people. Each has its own personality. Plant it in the right spot and it grows like crazy. If I didn’t enjoy doing this, I would not have done it for the past 23 years.” Dave Harvey
And making it greener When the City adopted its Climate Action Plan in early 2012 it marked the latest step in its green journey. Walnut Creek is home to 75 certified “green” businesses that go through a rigorous review by a number of regulatory agencies, including the City of Walnut Creek. Five of the 75 green businesses are actually City operations: the auto shop, park maintenance operations, City Hall, the police department and the Lesher Center for the Arts. Walnut Creek was among the first cities in Contra Costa County
to utilize eco-friendly gardening practices. For example, Parks maintenance workers can be found placing ladybugs instead of pesticides in many city rose gardens. Other examples of “going green”
Consider this
e buildings th 57 of the 69 more e ar ns ai nt City mai s old. than 35 year t value: Replacemen n io ill m $75
Parks division employee since 1989, maintaining medians and greenways
include the charging stations for electric vehicles at the Locust Street garage and the solar panels on the roof of City Hall – paid for through grant funding. The downtown Library has its own claim to sustainable fame: opened in 2010, it was the first building in Walnut Creek to attain LEED Gold certification for its use of recycled building materials, energy efficient design, and environmentally friendly construction. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.