Solar-Powered Garden Canopy Proposed For New York’s BQE

This past year the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC) hired New York landscape architects <a href="http://www.starrwhitehouse.com/" target="_blank">Starr Whitehouse</a> to come up with a three concepts to improve the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which currently carves a trench through a community. They recently unveiled their solutions, which help green the neighborhood, provide <a href="http://inhabitat.com/sn%c3%b8hetta-selected-to-design-a-new-car-free-times-square/" target="_blank">improved pedestrian and bicycle access</a> and reconnect the divided neighborhoods. Community members were also involved in the design process and let the designers know they would also like to reduce noise from the road, mitigate pollution, and create a connection between the separated Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill and Columbia Street Waterfront neighborhoods. Read on for a look at each proposal!

The first concept is called Maximum Green. It offers a quick fix solution that makes the most of the existing infrastructure.

Existing bridges and adjacent streets would be reconfigured to slow down traffic, and planters and stormwater retention swales would harvest and store water for irrigation. This scheme would add almost 1 acre of green space as well as 412 new trees.

Noise from the highway would be reduced either through the addition of a plexiglass wall around the entire trench or an artistic green wall. The cost of this project is estimated to be between $10.7 million and $18.7 million.

The second concept is called Connections - it includes everything in the first proposal to improve the existing bridges as well plans to provide more pedestrian and bicycle access across the trench.

Connections calls for the addition of five new prefab pedestrian and bike-friendly bridges across the trench.

Optional elements for this scheme include: acoustic infill panels for the bridges to reduce noise for those crossing; green screen panels that enable vines to grow on the outside of the bridges; solar panels on the roof that could generate up to $12,900 of green energy per year; and decorative LED lighting that creates a visible, identifiable landmark from the BQE below.

Connections would help calm traffic while providing improved access for residents at a cost between $30.1 million to $38.7 million.

The third concept, Green Canopy, makes use of all the previous design ideas and adds a large steel and vine covered canopy over the BQE Trench.

Additional space for retail and restaurants would be made along with improved noise reduction and lots of pollution mitigation. Solar panels on the roof of the canopy could produce over 1 million kilowatt-hours of green energy annually, for a cost between $78.8 million to $82.7 million.