Authorizing the Committee on Streets and Services to hold public hearings investigating the long-term benefits of replacing cement sidewalks with rubber sidewalks in select areas.

WHEREAS, Cities around the United States have begun experimenting with rubber sidewalks to achieve benefits unattainable by traditional cement sidewalks; and

WHEREAS, Richard Valeriano of Santa Monica, CA, is responsible for the environmentally-friendly sidewalk alternative that is tree-root friendly and made from recycled tires. His idea became reality in 2001 when he started his own company, Rubbersidewalks, Inc., that produces the rubber panels for rubber sidewalk installation; and

WHEREAS, Over 60 cities throughout the US are testing rubber sidewalks in problematic sidewalk locations. In Washington DC, the city installed rubber sidewalks on Rhode Island Avenue under a row of large willow oak trees; and

WHEREAS, The Washington Post reported, “Around tree roots, the walkways are said to last about 14 years—nearly three times longer than concrete ones—and are favored by city bureaucrats who last year (2005) took 2,600 complaints about broken concrete, got slapped with three lawsuits from people who fell on sidewalks and replaced hundreds of trees”; and

WHEREAS, The Post goes on to explain, “Concrete sidewalks suffocate tree roots which cause them to grow upward. Rubber sidewalk panels have quarter-inch spaces between them that let air and water through, so tree roots grow downward like they should;” and

WHEREAS, Although rubber sidewalks cost about $2 more per square foot to install than cement or asphalt, the benefits, including longer lasting material, less expensive repairs and environmentally-friendly materials, help to absorb the extra cost; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED,

BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That City Council’s Committee Streets and Services is hereby authorized to hold public hearings investigating the long-term benefits of replacing cement sidewalks with rubber sidewalks in select areas.

End