San Luis Creek Walk

San Luis Obispo Creek runs throughout the downtown area of San Luis Obispo, California. Portions of the creek run beneath the streets and shops; while vegetation and pathways were constructed for most of the creek that is visible. The portion of the creek bank between Nipomo and Broad Street was undeveloped. Cannon worked with a local landscape architect to expand the existing creek walk to encompass the entire length of the creek in the downtown area, including the untouched section of vegetated and eroding channel bank.

Cannon provided engineering, surveying, and permitting services for the walkway, seating areas, retaining walls, bi-level walkways, and a steel truss pedestrian bridge across the creek. Preserving riparian habitat was a high priority throughout each phase of the project. Slope protection fabrics combined with vegetation were used for erosion control. Cannon also prepared a drainage study to examine the effect of modernizing the channel without heightening the existing flood problems.