NewUrbanStreets

Avenida de las Americas (ADLA) was originally to be a major north-south boulevard on the east side of downtown but is now a street only seven blocks long and can never be longer. Why? The best place for the new stadium for the Astros Baseball team (known as Minute Maid Park) was the old passenger rail station yard and that blocked the northern expansion of ADLA. Not many years later the search for the best place to locate a new multi-purpose arena was found and hence the Toyota Center blocked the southern expansion of ADLA. (more…)

If you ever tried painting concrete in the sidewalk setting then you likely have had similar results as we have: i.e. not good. Paint does not adhere to the concrete particularly when it is grooved as ramps must be.

I am always surprised when engineers give in to the vendors’ plea to “trust us, this is different and we stand behind it”.  They stand behind it provided you can prove it was installed in the ideal temperature and humidity range they recommend and then only for the one-year warranty.  In short, the ramps in only a few years look like these photos.

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If you have read a few of my posts about paver surfaces you have read about the importance of sand in the joints. As I walked from a meeting back to the office the other day I was reminded of a situation that should/could be avoided that can accelerate the migration of the sand.

The problem is when small slices or pieces of pavers are needed to fill a very narrow gap that is too wide to be only sand. So, the gap is filled with a 1-inch or less “slice” of paver that is floating on top of the sand bed and between the concrete edge of the recess and the next paver. (more…)

Historic street brick have been reused in the newly re-programed, re-built and opened Market Square Park. The history and art in the previous incarnation was preserved and expanded while adding a lot more to do. (more…)

In my opinion the key to a long-life concrete or brick unit paver surface–assuming the foundation structure is properly built–is re-sanding. As discussed in other articles at this blog the sand is the “glue” that “locks” the individual pavers together. (more…)

During the eight years of street reconstruction in downtown Houston Texas we found many historic street bricks that paved the early streets of Houston in the mid-1800s. The City’s policy was to save the bricks for use in future projects. Two projects have been identified and so there was a need to sort the stored bricks and finally return some of them to service. (more…)