As Monrovia continues to make progress towards completion of the Station Square on-site infrastructure and park project adjacent to the Gold Line Station here in Monrovia, the city wanted to share that the project includes quite a variety of green infrastructure to promote environmental stewardship. In addition to traditional environmentally friendly project components, such as drought tolerant landscaping, utilization or recycled content and smart irrigation systems, the city also obtained a variety of grant funds to install cutting edge green infrastructure technology within the Station Square project.
An overview of some of that technology includes the following:
– Permeable Pavers: Permeable pavers are one of the most environmentally friendly paving solutions that are available. In addition to being decorative and attractive, permeable pavers have proven benefits such as reduced installation costs, increased water quality, decreased storm water runoff and helps prevent soil erosion and flooding.
– Silva Cells: Silva Cells are a modular building block for containing healthy soil beneath paving to help grow trees and manage the rate, quality and volume of storm water runoff. Typically, urban tree growth is stunted by limited access to soil and poor soil quality. Buckling sidewalks from roots are also hazardous and a major cost to repair. Silva Cells overcome these challenges by providing unlimited soil volumes without compromising above ground surface area. Silva Cells also integrate trees and soil with storm water management, utilizing the proven capacity of soils to act as an underground bioretention system. By combining on-site storm water management with expanded rooting volumes for healthy tree growth, Silva Cells create an ability to restore ecological function within developed areas.
– Bioswales: Bioswales are landscape elements designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water. They consist of a swaled drainage course with gently sloped sides that are filled with vegetation, compost and/or riprap.
– Stormtech Channels: Stormtech channel systems function as storm water detention, retention, and first flush storage environmental solutions. Stormtech chambers can be configured into beds or trenches of various sizes or shapes, and can be designed easily and efficiently around utilities, natural or man-made structures and any other limiting boundaries.
