Landscape Architect Articles

PMBR01-01-05 | News

Pedestrian Malls and Sidewalks

By Alva D. Logsdon

With a design representative of nearby native Colorado agricultural fields, decorative pavestones were used to create more than 100,000 square feet of a commercial development in Westminster. Polymeric sand is applied to dry pavers in the same manner as regular joint sand. Once cured, it is resistant to erosion caused by the use of pressure washings as well as stormwater, rain, wind and street sweepers.

Pedestrian safety is paramount to any landscape design. Maintaining that safety is important in preventing motor vehicle injuries and fatalities. Design communities favoring pedestrian access combine residential, work and shopping areas into close geographic units. This has been an increasing trend in downtown renovations. Sidewalks and pedestrian malls promote the health benefits of walking and cycling as alternate forms of transportation thereby reducing vehicular traffic. Well-planned pedestrian transit areas lend a vitality and enhanced social ambience to the commercial district. An added environmental benefit is the reduction of air and noise pollution from vehicular traffic.

Interlocking concrete pave stones have proven to be a key element of landscape design, especially in delineating pedestrian traffic. In terms of safety, pave stones provide a slip resistant surface that is necessary for keep shoes from slipping under a range of conditions.

Paving stones provide flexibility that other paving methods do not. They perform well in cold weather, as freeze/thaw conditions do not affect their structural integrity when designed properly. And with the extensive availability of pave stone shapes, colors and textures, they are an integral component of the design pallet for commercial and scholastic facility landscapes.

Trends and Design

“For years, the ‘show me’ state was very conservative in the use of paving stones,” said Tracy Manges of Pavestone Company, referring to Missouri. “Getting architects and engineers to make changes with pave stone applications has been a long time coming. For years, the trend observed was paving stones specified for pedestrian walkways and median applications. Now more than ever before, vehicular applications are being specified. The market growth is indicative of the stone’s ability to perform, its low maintenance and its life-cost cycle.”

Concrete pavestones in a variety of contrasting colors and shapes provide subtle guides to directing pedestrian traffic, designating handicapped parking and parking lot striping, all eliminating the need for maintaining paint markings on the pavement.

Landscape designs for commercial developments now often incorporate paving stones into all aspects of paving including sidewalks, pedestrian malls and vehicular applications. The introduction of permeable and ADA compliant pavers also provide ecological and social-need solutions. The variety of design options are important in creating the overall landscape design appeal of a property, but they can also be a cost-effective functional aspect as well. ADA Compliant paving stones are also incorporated into the design to signal traffic crosswalks.

Although beautiful and decorative in nature, the ease of underground utility repairs increases their appeal for facility owners and landscape maintenance professionals. On almost a daily basis in most cities, there is the need for repair access to underground utility lines for sewer, water, gas, electric, steam, phone or cable services. Unlike asphalt, poured-in-place or stamped concrete, pave stone applications can be opened and closed without jack hammers, with less construction equipment and with no disruption to pavement design.

Landscape Superintendent and Maintenance Professional

Maintenance Guide for Pave Stones

“Interlocking concrete pave stones are reusable,” explains Joey Guedea, Pavestone Company, Texas. “The process of reusing the same paving stones is called reinstatement. When repairs or additions to underground utilities are required, the pave stones can be pulled up, palletized neatly while the repairs are underway. Once completed, they can be replaced without creating an eye-sore. Also, because there is no curing required for pave stones, the work can be done over night so that there is no business loss to area merchants or inconvenience to customers and area residents.”

Paving stones are virtually maintenance free. Efflorescence, a whitish salt deposit, is a natural occurrence that sometimes appears with concrete pavers. It can be removed with cleaners, but generally fades away over time. However, if the paving stones are to be sealed, it is important to wait 60 days post install before cleaning and sealing new pavers to allow any efflorescence to appear. Cleaners remove the whitish material as well as ground-in dirt, traffic marks and rust. The cleaner penetrates deep without discoloring or damaging the surface of the paving stones.

Pave stone color can be enhanced by sealants, which also provide protection against oil and dirt penetration. Easy to apply, sealers also allow for cleaning ease and are not affected by freeze-thaw cycles, the sun or rain. Sealants should only be applied once the paving stones have been thoroughly cleaned.

Pavestone color can be enhanced by sealants which also provide protection against oil and dirt penetration. For best results, the sealants should not be applied at a temperature lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit or higher than 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

“For best results, sealants should not be applied at a temperature lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit or higher than 85 degrees Fahrenheit,” said Judi Taylor, Techni-Seal. “Generously apply one coat of sealant at a time. After about 10 minutes it is important to remove any excess sealant that has not soaked into the paving stones with a foam roller. Sealants add a small percentage to the overall cost of a paver project, however the benefits can quickly be realized in maintenance savings.

High quality sealants should perform anywhere between three to five years depending on the volume of pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic. Under no circumstances should high quality sealants be applied any more frequently than two years.”

In most cases, paver projects that incorporate polymeric sand allow for the pavement to flex with freeze-thaw and clay soil expansion without compromising the integrity of the joints. Properly installed polymeric sand can stay within paving stone joints for over nine years, according to Taylor.

Sanded paver joints allow for the pavement to flex with freeze-thaw and clay soil expansions without damaging the application. Polymeric sand is applied dry, but hardens, keeping it in place effectively resisting erosion caused by storm water, wind or street sweepers. Additionally, it inhibits weed growth.