The Southeast Greenway will take shape through a series of planning and design phases, each building on the decisions of the last, adding detail until the design is ready to build. A useful way to picture it: the project starts as a vision on a map and ends as drawings and instructions a contractor can build from.
We are currently in the Master Planning or “Dream It Phase,” composed of three steps: Discovery, Exploration, and Synthesis. Throughout this phase, we will collect and analyze information about the site, gather community feedback and programming ideas, and create a Master Plan for the entire Greenway.
Master planning is the big-picture framework for the entire corridor. It establishes the vision and goals for the Greenway and the physical organization of the site—the alignment of trails and how they connect, where habitat, open space, recreation and gathering places sit in relation to neighborhoods, and how the land works at the scale of these relationships. The approved Master Plan becomes the basis for the technical design that will then be done for construction of the Greenway project components.
The phases in this part of the process include:
• Community Engagement: Through all planning phases to gather the community’s dreams and priorities and include public workshops, a Community Design Council, arts-based engagement, pop-ups in all four quadrants of Santa Rosa, and materials in English and Spanish.
• Phase 1 Discovery: A thorough assessment of existing conditions—ecological features, creek corridors, transportation networks, utilities, topography, floodplains, biological and cultural resources, and the social fabric surrounding the Greenway. This early research work means all ideas are tested against real site information from the beginning.
• Phase 2 Exploration or Concept Alternatives: The design team develops 2–3 distinct concept alternatives reflecting the community’s needs and aspirations. These are the dreams and ideas stage: what amenities and features will the Greenway include, generally where will they go, how big they will be, and how do they relate to one another. Each alternative is evaluated for feasibility, cost, and alignment with community goals.
• Phase 3 Synthesis or Preferred Concept: Through iterative feedback with the community, a preferred concept is selected and refined, with park amenities and elements, circulation, habitat areas, preliminary grading, and gathering spaces refined together.
Master planning concludes with the Preferred Master Plan: illustrative plans, diagrams, and graphics inspiring excitement and philanthropy, along with a statement of probable costs and an implementation strategy covering funding, phasing, governance, and stewardship. The implementation strategy identifies early-action and pilot projects, or the natural candidates, for a First Phase Project when design work resumes.
After the Dream It Phase concludes, the Technical Design Phases or the Build it Phase, begins. Over the next year and a half, we will complete the Master Planning and Community Engagement phase—laying the foundation for a greenway shaped by the dreams of Santa Rosa’s residents. From there, the pace of the technical design phases will follow the community’s vision and the funding we secure together, carrying the newly envisioned Greenway from plan to reality.
We look forward to seeing what our dreams entail.
