Cambridge Growth Management Advisory Committee
is seeking strategies to promote tree growth in
our city. Do you know successful parking lot toppings
and sidewalk construction systems which will
encourage the growth and maintenance of trees?
What porous paving materials have you used or
heard about? What are the specs for sidewalk
construction to support trees? What new materials
which allow snow removal are there? We would
love examples, leads, specs and your results.

On line responses now will be very useful. or
you can fax us at 617-876-8991 or call at 617-547-1413.

Reply to post by Karen Carmean Cambridge Tree Project, on April 04, 1998 at 15:34:00:

Karen,

Contact Dr. Nina Bassuk, Director of the Urban Horticulture Institute of Cornell University. She and I did a talk for the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta last year and she focused on her research in developing tree-friendly paving and sub-sidewalk environments. The had some interesting findings and test results from a couple plantings.

Her Address is:

Dr. Nina Bassuk
Cornell University
20 Plant Science Bldg.
Ithaca NY 14853

Phone: (607) 255-4586

Wayne

Reply to post by Karen Carmean Cambridge Tree Project, on April 04, 1998 at 15:34:00:

Karen, the Morris arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania installed a few parking lots and roads, using porous paving. Check with Bill Graham, outreach arborist, for more information
Bill Graham grahambd@dynanet.com

Reply to post by Karen Carmean Cambridge Tree Project, on April 04, 1998 at 15:34:00:

If you do contact Bill G. at the Morris Arboretum, ask him for the phone number of Andropogon Associates, specificly Leslie Sauer. They are a firm that works in the Philadelphia region and specialize in landscapes that work with natural processes rather than against them. They have done Dow Chemicals headquarters site and the entire parking facility is used to collect rainwater through porous pavement and retention basins.

I believe that the Morris Arb. may have reviewed their work or consulted with them prior to installing their parking areas.

Good luck

Wayne

Reply to post by Karen Carmean Cambridge Tree Project, on April 04, 1998 at 15:34:00:

The leads are wonderful. Another Cambridge
person who is looking specifically at sidewalk
regulations for the City of Cambridge is
following up these leads.

My email to our tree interest list also came up
with this answer about a parking lot at Walden
Pond which has been around since 1977.>

3. Do you know any tree-friendly parking lot and sidewalk surfaces and
> construction techniques? We are collecting this information this week
> particularly. The Cambridge Growth Management Advisory Committee is
> interested in such methods.

Check out this site on pourous pavement at Walden Woods:
http://www.gis.net/~dmiller/porpave.html

Keep the leads coming; we will let you know what
we uncover.

Reply to post by Karen Carmean Cambridge Tree Project, on April 04, 1998 at 15:34:00:

This past weekend at the Student Society of Arboriculture
meeting in Stevens Point WI, one of the speakers
was a Swedish gentleman named Klaus Vollbrecht.
He had pictures and design plans for walks supported
on foundations and pilings at regular intervals that
were used to float the walk above the root system
so that compaction and continuous footings were not
not needed. As usual, I didn't pay enough attention
to remember where it was, although I think in
Germany. Sorry I can't give more details, but
the system seemed like a good idea, since it disturbed
very limited areas of the soil.

Bob Underwood

Reply to post by Wayne Cahilly, on April 04, 1998 at 15:34:00:

Wayne, you are correct about the affiliation between Morris Arboretum and Andropogon. Andropogon designed the collection system for Morris.
Russ