Last month, we discussed how oil-heavy street asphalt contributes to our nation's carbon footprint, and how a new development in road technology using recycled tires is making our roads quieter, more durable, and more environmentally-friendly.
My hometown, the City of Bellevue, has taken a cue from this innovation and has decided to experiment with rubber sidewalks of similar construction.
The problem they face is two-fold: how do they make sidewalks more environmentally-friendly, and how do they prevent sidewalks from being destroyed regularly by the roots of trees?
The answer, they hope, lies in a modular rubber construction. The rubber is flexible enough to accomodate some root growth on its own. But then, when the root growth gets out of control and heaves the sidewalk, the individual squares can be removed to let maintenance workers gently trim the roots. And of course, being made from recycled materials means that less tires are going into landfills.
The installation is going in soon, and I'm going to make a trek over there to see what it looks like in real life. Stay tuned.
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