If you happen to live in Half Moon Bay or have passed through the historic downtown area on your way to the beach, you may have caught a glimpse of the new Half Moon Bay Library.
The library, which opened on Saturday, August 18, is LEED Silver certified, meaning it’s built to be energy and water efficient, and to improve indoor air quality and visitor comfort through mindfully selected building materials and lots of natural light. In addition to the new amenities for readers and makers of all ages (the library has a special makerspace, including a 3-D printer), the library embodies the natural landscape and feel of the community, and its eco-value extends beyond the walls and vegetated roof.
The City of Half Moon Bay, which funded half of the library’s construction, took the re-build as an opportunity to also create a more sustainable and safer community near the library and adjacent Cunha Middle School. The city did this through the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo (C/CAG) Green Streets Infrastructure and Safe Routs to School Pilot Program.
Half Moon Bay was one of 10 awardees in the county to receive funding to build multi-benefit nature-based infrastructure projects. Funding from a countywide voter-approved vehicle registration fee will help build projects that enhance the safety of intersections and road crossings near schools, while also protecting local waterways from a range of pollutants. Special vegetated “stormwater curb extensions,” as they’re called, capture and absorb urban runoff. Essentially, plants and quick-draining soils do all the work of removing roadway grease and oils, pesticides, sediment and other contaminants as the water percolates through the soil.
These nature-based solutions, dubbed “green infrastructure,” are part of a larger effort throughout the county and the Bay Area to reestablish the natural connection between rainwater and the landscape. Green infrastructure promotes rainwater as a resource for keeping our landscape hydrated and even refilling groundwater aquifers while protecting waterways from pollution.
To this end, C/CAG recently received a $986,300 Caltrans Adaptation Planning grant to develop a countywide sustainable streets master plan. The sustainable streets master plan will help local agencies plan and locate potential projects that address local priorities, including reducing urban heat island impacts, curtailing local flooding and increasing public safety and accessibility.
The library project is the first of 10 projects funded under the C/CAG grant program to be constructed, with the remaining nine slated to be built by December 2019. Next time you’re in Half Moon Bay, be sure to swing by the library and check out the new stormwater curb extensions after perusing the books.
