Street Improvements and Grasscrete

Here's what it will like like without proper care.

This is in Arizona though. I expect in Wa. it would do well.

I think it's clever, but have no experience with it except by observation.

Good Luck!!

I live on an estate that has used a very similar concept. After a number of years it just looks messy and the grass does not grow evenly, but the weeds seem to manage quite well. The other disadvantage is that it is impossible to walk on wearing anything other than hiking boots and is downright dangerous for high heels.

It is a pretty cheap way of paving a car park or sidewalk (pavement) but I would not touch it.

No idea what your area is like for flooding (due to heavy rainfall). If this is on the cards, then the worst thing that could be done is seal the ground off, preventing any chance of the rainfall soaking in, rather than just running off.

Floods apart, it's got to make more sense to let the rainfall soak in, for the sake of any trees in the area, to prevent possible building damage from subsidence due to the subsoil drying out & shrinking, and to help keep the water table reasonably stable.

I've seen this (grasscrete-type) stuff used in car parking areas to good effect, but it can suffer (as lynlynch illustrated) if overstressed (too much wear/not enough water).

If there's any chance it can be used - I'd say do your damnedest to get 'them' to use it.

By all means seal and pave the street. Far less potholes and quieter suburban outcome. (Speed humps to manage traffic speed)

As for gutters, there has been a change in Aus away from "square" gutters to a form that blends from the road surface to the sidewalk surface, capturing and directing the runoff without creating that "engineering edge" that is usual for city streets.

This means that pushbikes, cars, prams and pedestrians are able to make the transition from the street surface to the sidewalk anywhere along the street contour.

I've seen another version of "grascrete" that was used in high pedestrian traffic areas around university campus. The format was similar to those in the previous pictures, but the high spots were only "knobs" where the concrete web intersected and so represented around 10% of the surface allowing grass to grow in the spaces (or that was the theory). This also seemed to fail in both expectations. It did not provide a "grassed surface" outcome and still menat that there was mud or dust from that area.

Local councils have laid pavers for some footpaths/sidewalks in "herringbone" pattern rather than straight concrete. This means that when telecom/water/sewerage works are to be done, the pavers can be lifted, the works done and compacted and then the pavers replaced. That has been effective in that the sidewalks are no criss-crossed with different repairs after each utility company has their go at excavations.

Yes, and I actually love the sound of driving on cobblestone. Not too big on the vibration shaking my teeth out though.

Clarification for previous guest.

Cobblestone/paving stones was only for the footpath, not the normal driving surface.

checkout stamped concrete

The pedestrian pavement and the road surface need a definition, usually provided by the kerb, otherwise the pedestrian pavement runs the risk of being blocked by inconsiderate road vehicle parking, like this:

With the increasing movement towards high-stepping, off-road vehicles in the suburbs, the problem would appear to be getting worse. "Of course I don't mind you parking on the footpath. I'll just walk in the traffic instead."

These days there are many different forms of paving being used in different areas. We've just started using more pervious pavements here in the St. Louis area to help control run off. Unfortunately, they are only being used on parking lots so I'm not sure how well they hold up to street traffic. There are even porous asphalt surfaces available. The biggest issue with pervious pavements are the maintenance ones. They require a different sort of maintenance to keep them functioning properly.

You say you currently live on an unimproved city street. Define unimproved. Is it Gravel, Oil & Chip or something else. If you still want the more undefined look of a country road go without the curb & gutter. I assume you are not having any storm water issues currently so you'll probably only have to make the drainage ditches a little larger to handle the extra run off. The city will have less maintenance head aches. But you'll still have the more country look. I'm sure the city means well but if you get enough of your neighbors to sign a petition as to keeping your streets pretty much the way they are, they may listen.

Just do a search for pervious pavement & you'll have more info than you'll ever want. Maybe too much information. New pavement designs are being developed every day. You states highway authority and various engineering magazines will have lots of info far your particular area of the country. Check out their web sites too.

This article covers many of the questions about how well they work in areas with heavy freeze thaw cycles.

http://www.stormh2o.com/september-2008/pervious-asphalt-concrete.aspx

We used to do a lot of work with previous paving with both asphalt and concrete. The only real good use for it is sidewalks or parking lots. Like you said the maintenance is a nightmare. It requires frequent street clean not with a sweeper style but with a high power vacuum. Winter is the worse here in PA they use a lot of sand or ant-skid 1/4 inch stone, this clogs the pours in the previous paving. Also it can not handle heavy plowing or the heavy weights of some trucks.

Many new developments in our area are getting rid of the curbing this helps to recharge the storm water and reduces the size of your storm water systems. I have seem several areas where they used the grasphalt for parking areas and the grass really didn't grow correctly. I've used something similar in front of storm pipes to protect the swale it works great in that type of location.

My first question is: Do all the other neighbors on your street agree with you, or is it just your preference? The project is probably part of a road improvement program, which the city has already figured into their budget and can't or won't be stopped. Most times the city will do what they want without any input from you or your neighbors.

I live in a semi-rural area with a well. The city is expanding into my unincorporated area and installing water and sewer lines. Eventually I will be forced into hooking into their lines. Not much I can do about it.

Look into what these street improvement will do to your property value and tax rates. This is something that has to has to be done locally. It can make a huge difference in the local taxes you pay.

One problem with permeable pavements is in areas where you get hard frosts in Winter. Water freezes in the pavement or in the ground under it, and causes all manner of havoc.

Rather than a "city type" street, how about a narrow sidewalk with a strip of grass in between it and the pavement? For drainage, instead of paved gutters (swales) install perforated PVC underdrain, cover with washed crushed stone, a layer of geotextile, and another layer of crushed stone- possibly something like marble chips, granite, etc.

How wide is the street, and how far back are the buildings set from it?