CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Space (for reallocating)
(5 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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Posted 9 years ago # -
Posted 9 years ago # -
Posted 9 years ago # -
It might be worth reminding the local roads authority (guess) that the only statutory obligation they have is to maintain public roads for passing & repassing traffic. From these pictures it is abundantly clear that more than 50% of the costly to maintain road surface in not required for moving anything on wheels nor any pedestrian traffic.
In an age when the pennies are being counted, it would thus be very prudent to review, and then reclaim (in appropriate ways) the carriageways.
On some cases the balance of a wider footway or a separate cycleway can be tackled to reflect a high volume of cycle/pedestrian traffic which requires a route tailored to its particular characteristics that also avoids the conflict likely when there is a major disparity with the characteristics of motorised traffic.
Of particular value is converting the hard surfaces areas into 'soft landscaping' with grass or seedum as a base carpet (the latter having a great opportunity in selecting colours other then green to vary the visual impact, and reduce the maintenance costs (seedum beds/roofs don't need regular mowing!)
Eco Account - balancing the books
I've been working on Grass tracks for trams for a few years now (Edinburgh has some already), and key selling points include the fact that for every 1-1.5 sq.m of green carpet, photosynthesis converts COx and NOx into sufficient oxygen for sustaining one person through the period of the year.
PM2.5 Filtration
If that is not enough, I've seen plants sampled from the tracks in Berlin coated with the fine particulates the city wants to removed from the city's air, every park or even parklet becomes an on street air filtration unit.
Air Conditioning
I'll hope I've got the decimal point in the right place - but at a rough calculation it takes 2.5 Million calories to make a gallon of water evaporate. That's why we, and plants sweat to cool down, and why a bucket of water and a gentle breeze makes a great camping fridge. It also means we flock into parks in hot weather because unlike hard surfaced roads and footways Nature has the air conditioning wound up to full power (as long as someone remembers to water the trees and grass at night!) Streets can be sorted, as happens in some hot climates by sending water bowsers round soaking the roads just like a summer shower - just make sure you are not standing in the line of fire of the hoses.
Attenuation
As well as providing local climate stabilising inertia, green spaces attenuate the surges that come from a heavy shower, overpowering the city's drains and rivers. Water falling on vegetation is held back from becoming the torrents that surge down the hills, and scour away are any damaged tarmac or paths and surfaces not bound together or sealed with tarmac or cement. A greened street becomes a real asset, and potentially not only for the roads authority, as for most city streets it is only the road that belongs to the Council. The ground beneath remains as part of the title of the frontagers' properties (everyone rushes to check). For this reason the Council is prohibited from making a profit from the use of that land, and can only use revenue from parking fees and fines to manage the use of the road (gates open for huge sessions of horse trading on the revenues from parking charges).
Reclaim the Street(s) (sic)
This ownership detail means that if a road ceases to be the means of getting from point A to point B (often because a University or other large landowner now owns all the properties on the street, then the Council or the owner can get the road taken off the list of roads, and use the land as they see fit - Glasgow University (Park Drive), Scottish Media Group (Renfield Street), and others have done this over recent years for parts or all of some streets. No one, as yet, has reclaimed part of the road width not required for moving traffic and say, expanded their garden with an attractive flower bed, but there is always a first time....
Posted 9 years ago #
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