Environmentally-friendly Parking Lots

POROUS PARKING LOT CREATES LOCAL BUZZ:

Parking lots rarely generate much excitement, but 13 spots on Cayuga Inlet have managed to do just that. With a combination of porous asphalt laid over structural soil, developers of the project are betting that they've found a solution to a number of problems with parking lots.

Drainage issues will be addressed by using paving that has enough small holes to allow water to filter down into the ground rather than running over the surface, carrying oils and other car fluids into waterways. Meanwhile, with a large amount of soil beneath the asphalt, trees will be able to grow bigger, faster, creating shade that will offset the heat-island effect so common in parking lots.
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During construction of this new lot, builders dug up two feet of soil from the entire area that was going to be paved and replaced it with CU-Structural Soil, a patented product developed by Bassuk and Cornell graduate students. The soil is unique because, even when compacted as required for paving, it still has small pores to allow root growth.

With this medium beneath a permeable surface, the tree roots can grow beneath the entire lot, rather than being hemmed in by curbs.
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As for associated costs, all three said it's hard to compare the traditional process to these new methods. While the materials for porously paved lots are more expensive, they eliminate the need for other stormwater management systems that would add cost to a project.

Bassuk predicted that the growing popularity of porous asphalt will eventually bring down its cost.