Think about Roman Road. This is cobble stone road, applied by hand or with the help of a tractor. Roman cobble roads last for centuries; modern ones are all over Europe, smoothly applied with lazed levels, such that bike riding is no problem. These roads are nearly carbon zero to construct. Only the work of getting the rock processed and delivered are the small carbon consumption items, no oil in the road. Living wage workers apply these roads, just as any road; they used to be called masons or Calceteiros. And the joints are semi-permeable for water, such that the soil lives rather than dying under asphaltic pavement.
These roads could help us make some bike trails too. The cost of construction and materials is the same as asphalt!
Bill Wright Burton, Directo, LibraryBikes.org
On Apr 7, 2013, at 3:11 PM, "Bob Giordano" mist@strans.org wrote:
We've been working on asphalt alternatives for a few years now. Asphalt is full of toxins. Washington State has banned a class of asphalt sealers. Asphalt is mainly crude oil and some rock.
We have had good success with pine resin pavement, psyllium and clay pavers. Pavers need great care in being laid, as to be smooth. Psyllium is a joy to work with, much cheaper than asphalt and is permeable.
-- Bob Giordano Free Cycles Missoula Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation www.strans.org, mist@strans.org, 406-880-6834
Mark Rehder wrote:
On 2013-04-06, at 10:52 PM, Vernon Huffman wrote: (snip)
There is so much more we could do, but you've got to fight the asphalt lobby every step of the way.
The above made me chuckle - not because I disagree, but because I won't let cars think they are the reason for paved roads. We cyclists were the original "asphalt lobby":
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