Landscape designers at European Garden Design strive to be timeless and progressive in their designs. One part of those designs is incorporating green technologies like Flexi-Pave. Currently 4 residential driveways in Takoma Park are begin considered for replacement with Flexi-Pave. The Takoma Park Arborist will not allow damage to adjacent trees that traditional driveways would cause. Check back for more photos as these projects get underway.
Clyde’s Restaraunt is scheduled to be the latest storefront to receive Flexi-Pave tree surrounds from the Georgetown BID. Read more about it an article in The Georgetowner, as well as on Georgetown BID’s website.
It is easy to understand why urban trees struggle to survive. Urban tree surrounds and tree pits are problematic at best. Whereas forest trees thrive due to having uncompacted biologically active soils, amble soil moisture, amble nutrients and protection from the elements due to their large numbers, but urban trees lack in every area. They have restricted root zones, compacted soils, a majority of their roots zones covered with impervious surfaces, lack of moisture, lack of available nutrients, lack of biological activity and a lack of protection from the elements, not to mention the physical abuse they endure from pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
Over the years many solutions have been tried to deal with the street tree problem. Bare soil becomes overgrown with weeds, or heavily compacted and impervious to water and oxygen from repeated foot traffic. Short fences cause tripping hazards for pedestrians. Timbers are tripping hazards, then they deteriorate and neighbors tend to fill in the planters with additional soil, causing girdling roots to form. Bricks become dislodged into tripping hazards or projectiles during times of civil unrest, Granite cobbles move and become dislodged as well. Cast iron tree grates become filled with trash and cigarette butts, then they girdle the tree trunks when their openings are not cut larger each year.
But things are different now. A new solution has been in development for the past 15 years and is now available to solve this urban challenge. Flexi-Pave is currently being used on a widespread basis throughout the country as a solution for municipal tree pits. Cities like New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, Key West and large scale property owners like The Walt Disney Company are systematically replacing their tree surrounds with Flexi-Pave as fast as they can.
Why is this, and what makes Flexi-Pave different than previous fixes? The difference is that Flexi-Pave is a porous flexible paving material that allows water and air to pass through to the root zone, but it prevents soil compaction from daily pedestrian traffic. Air and water are critical for trees to survive, but soil compaction is detrimental to root development.
And where prior versions of porous paving became clogged with fines and required extensive vacuuming to maintain their porosity, Flexi-pave is self-cleaning due to it’s dynamic void capacity and flexible nature, so it does’t require vacuuming. This is why the governing agencies consider Flexi-Pave to be “invisible” to stormwater as a truly long term porous surface.
Flexi-Pave has other benefits as well. A biofil of microbes lives inside the 19-23% void space and these microbes feed on contaminants like nitrates and orthophosphates which are found in the first flush of stormwater during a rain event. These contaminants traditionally have flowed into storm drains, then into our bodies of water causing eutrophication, or dead zones where aquatic life cannot survive. The Chesapeake Bay, for instance is struggling with eutrophication from all the years of being polluted. But as this storm water flows into the Flexi-Pave, it is cleaned of these contaminants by up to 86%, studies show.
The latest to join this movement are the DDOT, the Georgetown Business Improvement District and the Urban Forestry Administration who have joined forces to begin a tree surround replacement program in Georgetown and throughout the city. The Georgetown BID has installed several Flexi-Pave tree surrounds along M Street Northwest and is attempting to establish a standard Georgetown Flexi-Pave color. Plaques are installed at the base of some of the tree surrounds explaining what this new material is so feedback from residents and visitors can be monitored. Read more about it in this article from The Georgetowner. This latest tree surround is located in front of the Godiva store and Clydes.
Elsewhere in the District of Columbia, sidewalks and tree surrounds are being replaced through a city-wide sidewalk replacement program funded by DDOT and overseen by UFA. The goal is two-fold. To improve tree health by increasing the size of standard 4’x10′ tree pits, and secondly to eliminate the constant repair and replacing of cracking concrete sidewalks adjacent to large trees. Check back often to the Installation Map for the latest tree surrounds installed in your area.
It is easy to understand why urban trees struggle to survive. Urban tree surrounds and tree pits are problematic at best. Whereas forest trees thrive due to having uncompacted biologically active soils, amble soil moisture, amble nutrients and protection from the elements due to their large numbers, but urban trees lack in every area. They have restricted root zones, compacted soils, a majority of their roots zones covered with impervious surfaces, lack of moisture, lack of available nutrients, lack of biological activity and a lack of protection from the elements, not to mention the physical abuse they endure from pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
Over the years many solutions have been tried to deal with the street tree problem. Bare soil becomes overgrown with weeds, or heavily compacted and impervious to water and oxygen from repeated foot traffic. Short fences cause tripping hazards for pedestrians. Timbers are tripping hazards, then they deteriorate and neighbors tend to fill in the planters with additional soil, causing girdling roots to form. Bricks become dislodged into tripping hazards or projectiles during times of civil unrest, Granite cobbles move and become dislodged as well. Cast iron tree grates become filled with trash and cigarette butts, then they girdle the tree trunks when their openings are not cut larger each year.
But things are different now. A new solution has been in development for the past 15 years and is now available to solve this urban challenge. Flexi-Pave is currently being used on a widespread basis throughout the country as a solution for municipal tree pits. Cities like New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, Key West and large scale property owners like The Walt Disney Company are systematically replacing their tree surrounds with Flexi-Pave as fast as they can.
Why is this, and what makes Flexi-Pave different than previous fixes? The difference is that Flexi-Pave is a porous flexible paving material that allows water and air to pass through to the root zone, but it prevents soil compaction from daily pedestrian traffic. Air and water are critical for trees to survive, but soil compaction is detrimental to root development.
And where prior versions of porous paving became clogged with fines and required extensive vacuuming to maintain their porosity, Flexi-pave is self-cleaning due to it’s dynamic void capacity and flexible nature, so it does’t require vacuuming. This is why the governing agencies consider Flexi-Pave to be “invisible” to stormwater as a truly long term porous surface.
Flexi-Pave has other benefits as well. A biofil of microbes lives inside the 19-23% void space and these microbes feed on contaminants like nitrates and orthophosphates which are found in the first flush of stormwater during a rain event. These contaminants traditionally have flowed into storm drains, then into our bodies of water causing eutrophication, or dead zones where aquatic life cannot survive. The Chesapeake Bay, for instance is struggling with eutrophication from all the years of being polluted. But as this storm water flows into the Flexi-Pave, it is cleaned of these contaminants by up to 86%, studies show.
The latest to join this movement are the DDOT, the Georgetown Business Improvement District and the Urban Forestry Administration who have joined forces to begin a tree surround replacement program in Georgetown and throughout the city. The Georgetown BID has installed several Flexi-Pave tree surrounds along M Street Northwest and is attempting to establish a standard Georgetown Flexi-Pave color. Plaques are installed at the base of some of the tree surrounds explaining what this new material is so feedback from residents and visitors can be monitored. Read more about it in this article from The Georgetowner.
Elsewhere in the District of Columbia, sidewalks and tree surrounds are being replaced through a city-wide sidewalk replacement program funded by DDOT and overseen by UFA. The goal is two-fold. To improve tree health by increasing the size of standard 4’x10′ tree pits, and secondly to eliminate the constant repair and replacing of cracking concrete sidewalks adjacent to large trees. Check back often to the Installation Map for the latest tree surrounds installed in your area.
Flexi-Pave is being considered for use in replacing buckling sidewalks throughout the Urbana Highlands neighborhood. Currently one street is being evaluated to address the issue of trees and sidewalks.
An innovative, new, mixed-use 89,000 square-foot site, The Nannie Helen at 4800 features affordable housing for seniors, working families and individuals. The construction includes 1,790 square feet of retail space, 1,900 square feet for an adult education and fitness center, 3,438 square feet of office space, and 70 affordable housing units, including one, two, and three-bedroom apartments within a five-level, elevator serviced building. Other building amenities include a shared community room and outdoor playground.
The project also includes 41 residential parking spaces paved with Flexi-Pave. In addition, Flexi-Pave was used for sidewalks and a playground. The construction qualifies for LEED certification. Additionally, the construction created 17 new jobs (permanent and construction) in the District and generates over $370 thousand in tax revenues for the District.
The $19 million new construction development was financed as a public and private collaborative. The project is a key to the city’s efforts to revitalize the Lincoln Heights/Richardson Dwellings and surrounding historic Deanwood community. Under the auspices of the New Communities program, A. Wash & Associates has reserved twenty-three of the seventy units for residents currently living in the Lincoln Heights/Richardson Dwellings.
The New Communities Initiative is a comprehensive partnership designed to improve the quality of life for families and individuals living in distressed neighborhoods in the District. The goal of the initiative is to combat the social challenges that exist in these communities by transforming highly concentrated low-income neighborhoods into healthy mixed-income neighborhoods that protect housing for low-income residents with a one-for-one replacement of existing affordable housing around improved community anchors, such as schools and recreation centers. Flexi-Pave colors chosen for this project were Peppermill and Evergreen.
Nannie Helen Sidewalks Plan
Nannie Helen Porous Parking Stalls Plan
Nannie Helen Playground Plan
Zuckerman Gravely Management Inc. manages numerous properties around the National Capital Region and one of their recurring challenges has been failing tree surrounds. Whether they consist of bare soil, granite cobblestone, bricks, metal grates, overgrown grass or rubber panels, they all fail eventually and become tripping hazards for pedestrians. Zuckerman must ensure that their properties are ADA compliant and thereby eliminate these trip/fall hazards. Once Zuckerman execs realized the benefits of Flexi-Pave, they began replacing failing tree surrounds on their properties with this poured-in-place rubber & stone mixture that remains a porous, non-slip, non-cracking and ADA compliant surface.
Phase 3 of the work at the Potomac Place Shopping Center will be to replace the timber tree surrounds in the parking lot. The parking lot trees have died and been replaced numerous times due to the harsh conditions of new trees in parking lot tree pits surrounded by asphalt with it’s heat island effect. So Flexi-Pave is being explored to remove the tripping hazards, increase water infiltration into tree pits, and reduce heat island effects.
The latest Firestone store to open again has a Flexi-Pave sidewalk in front of the store. Flexi-Pave is the preferred product for all Firestones nationwide. It is selected due to its environmentally friendly footprint and recycled tire content. Flexi-Pave color chosen for this sidewalk was Forest Green.
In early 2013, Capitol Flexi-Pave installed a Flexi-Pave trail in Founders Park for The City of Alexandria.
“Founders Park is a peaceful riverside park in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. It is near the shops and restaurants of King Street, the Alexandria Marina and the Torpedo Factory. It is a popular urban green space where the public can stroll along the shore, enjoy the beautiful river vistas, walk their dogs, play volleyball, have a picnic, and enjoy the tranquility of this wonderful site. It is a great place to relax and enjoy the fresh air and the natural beauty of the river. Founders Park was created in 1978 through the efforts of a small group of residents along Queen, Quay, Princess and Union Streets who opposed a plan to build an apartment complex of four 18-story towers at the site. If were not for their strong opposition to the proposed development, Founders Park would not exist today. The City of Alexandria maintains Founders Park as a passive park; private events are not permitted. The Alexandria Waterfront Small Area Plan recognizes the Founders Park’s special role on the waterfront and preserves the current use and character of the park.” You can read more about Founders Park here.
Chosen Flexi-Pave color for the trail was Mossy Slate.
December 2012: Walking Trail Construction Scheduled at Founders Park
This site had four specific challenges. First was the need for a new driveway to complement his new mother-in-law suite house addition. Second was a pervious surface for the driveway which would eliminate $15,000 of stormwater management structures and mitigation fees that Arlington County was requiring if a standard asphalt driveway was installed. Third, the last 40 feet of this driveway was unusually steep and more than once, the homeowner’s car had slid down the drive into the busy adjacent feeder road to I-66. And fourth, there were several mature trees adjacent to the proposed driveway that could not be harmed. After the owner and his Architect carefully considered all the options, there was only one solution that solved all the unique challenges of this site: A Flexi-Pave driveway was installed with the WarmZone radiant heating coils underneath. Arlington County was satisfied with the driveway’s permeability and did not require any stormwater mitigation. The Project Forester approved the Flexi-Pave due to it’s ability to not impede water or air flow to the tree roots, thereby eliminating any impacts to tree health. The tactile surface of the driveway increased traction for car tires on the slope and when coupled with the radiant heating which eliminated the need to shovel snow or add de-icing materials the finished product met all the project requirements.
Zuckerman Gravely Management Inc. manages many numerous properties around the National Capital Region and one of their recurring challenges has been failing tree surrounds. Whether they consist of bare soil, granite cobblestone, bricks, metal grates, overgrown grass or rubber panels, they all fail eventually and become tripping hazards for pedestrians. Zuckerman must ensure that their properties are ADA compliant and thereby eliminate these trip/fall hazards. Once Zuckerman execs realized the benefits of Flexi-Pave, they began replacing failing tree surrounds on their properties with this poured-in-place rubber & stone mixture that remains a porous, non-slip, non-cracking and ADA compliant surface.
Phase 2 of the work at the Potomac Place Shopping Center was to replace the tree surrounds in the sidewalk adjacent the the parking lot. The shopping center had been sued on several occasions for pedestrians tripping on uneven pavement and raised cobblestone tree surrounds. The installation took 1 day and comments from the affected business and patrons have been overwhelming positive. The new tree surrounds are flat and flush with the surrounding concrete sidewalks.
Capitol Flexi-Pave, LLC
39024 E. Colonial Hwy.
Hamilton, VA 20158
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