The Saratogian – City’s First Green Street
The Saratogian: City’s First Green Street Has New Porous Asphalt That Reduces Polluted Stormwater Runoff Into Lakes, Streams
by Paul Post for The Saratogian | May 6, 2012
Photo: The Saratogian
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Matt McPadden is no Houdini, but he knows how to make water disappear through asphalt.
The Malta builder recently installed the Spa City’s first-ever application of a new porous road surface material that’s more environmentally friendly because it prevents stormwater runoff.
It was recently put down on Willow Lane, a new street that’s part of a small subdivision off Walnut Street on the city’s West Side.
“It’s sort of a test run for us,” said Al Flick, a Saratoga Springs Public Works Department official. “We want to see how it works.”
The asphalt is part of a much larger “green” infrastructure initiative promoted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Two things are conspicuously absent on Willow Lane — streetside curbs and catch basins.
Instead of running into drains and being piped long distances, water goes straight down through porous asphalt to the ground beneath the road-bed. This prevents all kinds of harmful substances — gas, oil, yard fertilizer — from reaching streams, rivers and lakes.
McPadden said the material is safer in winter than regular asphalt because water doesn’t collect on the surface and create black ice.
WJ Morris Excavating Inc. did the actual paving and installation for McPadden.
“It’s kind of new to the Northeast,” owner Bill Morris said. “We did a small piece of Skidmore College parking lot last year as a test. This is the first time it’s been used on a city street.”
Willow Lane, about 400 feet long, connects Walnut and Birch streets.
Flick said several other Capital District municipalities have experimented with the material. Locally, it’s produced by Pallette Stone Corp.
“They just started to make it,” he said.
However, the material can only be used in certain places.
“You have to have the right soils beneath it — sandy, not clay or rock ledge,” Flick said.
Crushed stone is put down beneath the asphalt instead of gravel. It’s a little more expensive, but eliminating curbs and catch basins saves a considerable amount of money.
“It all comes out in the wash,” Morris said.
