With the new tram system in Liège, lots of car lanes were replaced with grassy tram tracks
cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11743093
cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11742954
@FenrirIII oooh... i love this and have thought of this in the past... I just assumed it was unreasonable...
I'll be the one to say it: that's just stupid.
Lifeless monoculture lawns are as big a waste of resources as car centric infrastructure. Doubly so when it's in a place where humans can't even walk on it. Triply so when it's in a spot where it will gum up and corrode the rails it's trying to hide.
You do realize this exact system has been utilized everywhere in the world for decades without issue? The alternative is completely sealed pavement so what exactly do you propose to improve this? You wanna have the car lanes back?
Saying sealed pavement is the only alternative is a false dichotomy. Off the top of my head, gravel ballast has been used for centuries.
A quick search shows 30x maintenence costs for minimal drainage benefits.
Civil engineering isn't one size fits all and I'm sure there are some climates + layouts where this makes sense. But I'd prefer putting that green space somewhere where people can use it and minimize the cost, focus and footprint of transportation infrastructure as much as possible.
Better than pavement. Of course some native grasses would be better, but this is still an improvement.
I can already hear the thumps from a healthy culture of critters getting splatted by the train running through wild shrubs over the rails.
Seriously, rock ballast has a maintenance cost too. Concrete has higher construction cost but is cheaper to maintain, but creates the heat island effect. Grass can still help with drainage if engineered well, removes the heat island effect, and is not too much more to maintain, since trams are a lower speed and weight class putting less of a load on the rails. Grass is even better than concrete slab for noise dampening. So grass isn't entirely purposeless and make for a pleasant scenery for people to be near.
My wife never wants to go to Wallonia ever again because I showed her liège.
That was a few months ago.
Was gonna show her Charleroi next 🤷🏻♂️
I live in Charleroi and agree with the sentiment :D it's not the same vibe as Liege though, might be even worse...
I like watching YouTube videos explaining the Charleroi metro.
I live in Belgium and don't think I've ever been in Liège or Charleroi
Yup, we're an ex-industrial city trying to modernize. It's hard, so please, be nice and acknowledge the progress instead of dismissing it. I'm not responsible for the choice the older generations did and your post here feels like an insult to me. If you're old enough and have oriented the choices that were made in your city so that it's not car oriented, then congratulations on making the good choice. If you're just lucky to leave in one because your parents made the good choice, then good for you. But please, don't look at others trying to improve their place from your, or your wife's high ground. There are places like the one you showed in every urban suburb of any post industrial city.
Can't wait for all the animals to die on the tracks
Don't feed the embarrassingly low energy troll, folks. Carry on.
Yes, being concerned about putting creature habitat directly where trains run is trolling.
it's about not being stupid. You aren't gaining anything useful putting grass between the rails of a metro besides potential problems.
Someone said it's been done successfully, which is surprising if true, but it's still not really doing anything.
Where's the link to the article? Downvoted
The people at nolawns would like to have a word
Well, you do need a flat surface below the tram. A lawn will dampen more sound and re-emit less heat than concrete or asphalt.
Eh. Not sure native shrubbery would be the best choice in this particular situation.
It will probably be 80% dandelions and clover in a few years though.
Yeah clover or some kind of camomile would basically be ideal for beneath a tram
I mean, as long as the trams run, nothing will get tall