Positive Post: Rubber Sidewalks = More Trees to Save Our Earth
by Sarah
Information for the following came from the National Public Radio article “New Rubber Sidewalks Tested in 60 cities” by Neil Greenfieldboyce on August 4, 2006.
Rubber sidewalks may be the new in thing when it comes to being environmentally friendly in construction. The man who came up with this brilliant idea was Richard Valeriano, a sidewalk inspector for California. When he would go out to inspect the sidewalks, he would see many parts where trees had cracked the sidewalks for spaces to grow their roots. He thought that maybe rubber sidewalks would be able to stretch more instead of cracking like concrete.
This is how rubber sidewalks began. He soon had rubber sidewalks tested in Santa Monica, California. Now, in sixty different cities rubber sidewalks are being tested as a replacement for concrete sidewalks. Some cities have said that these rubber sidewalks can withstand willow oaks, a tree noted for their tendency to destroy sidewalks.
One good reason to use rubber sidewalks is that they help keep trees in good health by letting them grow. Also, the panels have very tiny cracks so that tree roots underneath the sidewalk can still receive water. Rubber sidewalks are also easier to install than concrete. These sidewalks are made from recycled tires. Kids can still use chalk on them and jump rope on them just like concrete. Yeah!
Although this great idea has come around, some people don’t like it. Some tree roots are simply too big to be able to allow the use of rubber panels of sidewalk.
The good thing is that people are trying to be ecologically friendly even in cities.
Here are some other articles on rubber sidewalks.
“Rubber sidewalks add bounce to city foot traffic”
“New rubber sidewalks easier on the joints”
What can you do?
Any ideas?
Give it a go if you have an idea and see what happens maybe you can start a trend that could even maybe get some money in your pockets.
November 21st, 2007 at 4:52 pm
That’s awesome! I would’ve never thought of it but it really makes sense. I think it’s great when we make positive advances in the world there are so many different options we can do that help our environment so much, such as buying a hybrid car! Also the idea of a rubber sidewalk seems safer because the cracks cause people to trip when they aren’t paying attention.
November 21st, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I think its really cool that they are made from recycles tires and that chalk can still be used on them! Are there any downsides of using rubbersidewalks instead of concrete?
November 21st, 2007 at 6:31 pm
That sounds really neat. it probably also doesn’t expand and contract during the summer and winter like concrete does causing it to crack. It’s also really cool that the rubber doesn’t crack when a tree grows under it and at they same time the tree is still able to grow. Are the rubber side walks more or less expensive then concrete sidewalks?
November 21st, 2007 at 7:03 pm
This really sounds like a win, win situation to me. Rubber sidewalks are easier to install than concrete sidewalks and they are environmentally friendly. What’s not to love? I think the people who don’t like the idea are stubborn and close minded. It doesn’t hurt to just test them out.
This is really good because we need to be doing all we can to have more trees. The more trees we have, the less carbon and less greenhouse gases there are. I think this guy is really smart and creative for thinking this up. We need more people like him;less complaining, more helping. By the way, I’ve never heard of a sidewalk inspector.
November 21st, 2007 at 7:34 pm
I have never heard of rubber sidewalks before! I also agree with grant, they seem easy to put in rather than concrete sidewalks. Also i agree with what ali said, these sidewalks seem more safe because cracks can cause people to fall down. I found this website about rubber sidewalks. I also found out that they can save rubber tires from landfills.
http://www.rubbersidewalks.com/
November 21st, 2007 at 7:37 pm
This sounds like an amazing idea!!! I love how this is helping more than one issue, the trees and it is made by the use of recycled items!!! It also sounds a bit less painful for us clumsy people! There is one downside, Brantley, rubber sidewalks are about two or three times the cost of cement sidewalks. But hey, I think it’s a decent price to pay for the survival of out planet!!!
November 21st, 2007 at 7:39 pm
This is definatley going to be a good thing for the enviornment. I wonder is these sidwalks are alittle bouncy because they’re made of rubber. As grant said, this will let us have more trees, which will lead to more photosynthesis to take in the carbon dioxide. They should really start to install rubber sidewalks everywhere in my opinion.
November 22nd, 2007 at 10:59 am
Wow, this is really cool! I love how this idea is enviromentally friendly, and still serves the same purpose as the concrete side walks! I wonder if it would make like skating or something harder to do? I also like the way they look! They dont look so plain and boring, but nice and neat!
November 22nd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Rubber sidewalks sound like a great alternative to concrete. Though they withstand roots, they also seem safer. For example, if someone falls, wouldn’t their injuries be greater on concrete as opposed to rubber?
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:54 am
That’s so cool!I love the idea of rubber sidewalks! It sort of reminds me of the play ground at New Town park. Instead of wood chips they have pieces of tires on the ground. It hurts less when you fall and it helps the enviornment!
November 24th, 2007 at 12:58 am
Wow, i have never heard of rubber sidewalks, they sound pretty interesting. Its great that they recycle tires and help the trees alot, but i was wondering, these rubber sidewalks may be able to withstand roots in the ground, but what about the weather and just being walked on everyday, wont these rubber sidewalks be worn down alot quicker?
November 24th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
I think that it would take less time to have a rubber sidewlk installed than a concrete sidewalk because when you pass by the roads and see them constructing a sidewalk from a new neighborhood it looks like it takes forever. I never knew that trees are affected by concrete sidewalks. I think that it would stop less injuries for example if you were to fall of your bicylce than it would be less likely you owuld get hurt on rubber as opposed to concrete.
November 25th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Sarah, I thought about this post over the weekend and was thinking about the cities in California and how there weren’t many trees at all in the cities. Though I believe that this is a great idea in the fact it helps recycle old tires, but I don’t believe this rubber sidewalk helps trees that much.
Here is a picture of California’s capitol, as you can see there aren’t many trees.
http://spider.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/ardila/Los-Angeles.jpg
November 25th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Rubber sidewalks sound really nice right now because like Sebastiana says it would be more fall friendly for us because concrete can really tear ur skin. But, thats not the most important factor that caught my eye. The fact the the rubber sidewalk can help save trees is so great and its another step to save our environment. I actually just saw a tire on the side of the road today. I think we should organize making a rubber side walk somewhere in georgia and have a tire collection! (Replacing old tires also help reduce carbon emissions and helps boost your car’s efficiency)
November 25th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
So, this post got me thinking and i think that the rubber sidewalk will not only be good for saving trees but for runners, skate boarders, etc. in general. I see runners every morning everywhere when i go to school and I used to run in Newtown Park and most the people who do run there know that concretes not to great for your knees and ankles when you run. Being rubber, almost like a track, it would be smooth and not stress your legs as much =) and for skate boarders it would be a smooth ride and not as bad on concrete when you fall. ( My friend Stehl contributed to this idea)
As a result, not only would rubber sidewalks help trees but help pedestrians too!~
As a result having a
November 25th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
This is a really good enviormental idea! Rubber side walks, who’da thought? Thats a very good idea , hats of to Richard Valierano! I was recently in Arkansas this last week and while watching tv i saw a very interesting commercial. THe commercial was about the enviornment and how to help it. You were supposed to come up with an idea that you could change about the daily living in our lives that would help and make a video of it. Then you send trhe video in and then if your s is the best enviornment helper then you win, i think the prize was getting to go to an enviormentalist confrence, or party or something. It was a big deal, i was thinking what can we do in our daily lives to help our enviornment, whats something that we as 9th grade students could do?
November 25th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
That is such an GENIOUS idea! My mom went to seminary in New Orleans (before katrina). Right outside of her campus there was a huge oak tree that was merely trying to stretch out it’s roots, it broke the entire sidewalk up, and in the dark, it hurt a lot of people. I think if there had been rubber sidewalk there, there would have been a lot less accidents, and a lot more growing room for the tree. Because of the fact that no rubber sidewalks were put there, the poor beautiful tree had to be cut down.
November 25th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
I think that’s actually a great idea! Not only does it save trees, it’s awesome to hear that they are made from RECYCLED tires! So I’m guessing that if more of us start using rubber sidewalks, it will also help global warming in some way?
I also found an article on this topic.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/243444_ncenter05.html
November 25th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
I’m not sure about this, but if you are riding a bike fast enough to hurt yourself, is it really going to make a difference whether the sidewalk is concrete or rubber? Just wondering
November 25th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
i would have to ask the same question brantley asked. are there any down sides to using rubber instead of concrete. i would haev to agree with jennifer as well. i think sidewalks that are rubber would help keep the people using them safe from injuries as well as the trees. i think if more people used rubber that trees would be saved a lot faster and this global warming “crisis” would be slowed.
November 25th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
that is such a good idea! it really makes sece cause in my neighborhood there was a crack in sidewalk kind of like in the picture on the left and i didnt notice it until i tripped over it and got scrapped up. with the rubber if you fall it should leave too bad of a mark and also it doesnt hurt the soil like concrete can get into the soil. this is not a benfit for the enviornment but for us as well.
November 25th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
I’m not sure about this whole “rubber sidewalk” thing. I mean, yes, they are environmentally friendly, and would allow the trees to grow, but we wouldn’t have this problem if we hadn’t put down sidewalks and concrete in the first place. Before humans came in and chopped down all of the trees and put down concrete, there were meadows and forests and streams everywhere. In my opinion, and I don’t want to shoot down anybody else’s, it is our duty to protect everything God gave us. And I don’t think He gave us all of the world’s beautiful scenery just so we could destroy it. But because we have this problem now, and can’t go back in time to fix it, I think these rubber sidewalks could do a lot of good. But maybe, if you look into a “supernatural” meaning of all this, the trees COULD be trying to give us a wake up call!
November 26th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
At the old playground in my neighborhood they used this same principal. Instead of concrete they used shredded bits of old tires so that it was safer for the kids, and tto let all the treesgrow in. I personally think it is a good idea to make rubber sidewalks, because all I see are good things coming out of this. Any other thoughts?
November 26th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Connor my neighborhood used to use pieces of old tires, but my neighborhood now uses woodchips. If we used rubber and other things like steel, and other recycled things then we would have a much better enviornment. I was thinking about the houses Miss baker told us about and how their frames were made up of steel instead of wood, this would be a good idea because it would get rid of termites and be better economically.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
It does cost more but i think its worth it because if we use normal ones, then we have to buy more trees and constantly put in new sidewalk where the old one broke. It also looks nice so people wont be upset with it. Its a great alternative and if we use it more, more advantages will probably be discovered. Also the fact that it is recycled makes it an even better idea
November 28th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Hey Cooper it might help more in cities like Savannah in Georgia, because of all the great big trees there. Also cities in California are working on planting trees in California ,although it’s not completely successful yet they are trying.
November 29th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
This is a great idea. It helps the environment and it is easier to put in. And the tree roots are able to grow more and it isn’t as much of hardship finacially to people. And I don’t understand what the loss is to the people, if they are willing to put in concrete sidewalks and allow them to crack, why shouldn’t they put in rubber sidewalks. I think people need to be more open to new ideas. Nothing will ever change, if people don’t give it a chance.