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A comment on Countering climate change with cool pavements. Parent comment

Re:Countering climate change with cool pavements by clairity on Sunday August 22, 2021 @08:15PM (#28271002)
primarily by choosing an appropriate tree that doesn't do that. countersinking the tree can work in some cases too (often with a metal grating around the base of the tree so people don't fall in and hurt themselves). i don't know that you can "fix" the roots once the tree has become well established, without seriously damaging the tree and potentially creating additional hazard.
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Re:Countering climate change with cool pavements by burnished on Monday August 23, 2021 @01:11AM (#28272520)
Ooooh, countersinking a tree to get its roots below the pavement, with a metal grating to keep people out.. thanks, I used to wonder about this and had no idea why some one would do that.
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Re:Countering climate change with cool pavements by bcrosby95 on Sunday August 22, 2021 @09:23PM (#28271428)
You also have to be careful of mainlines and turning that into swiss cheese with the root system. Ultimately it takes a fair amount of research to pick the right location and tree.
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Re:Countering climate change with cool pavements by harmmonica on Sunday August 22, 2021 @10:21PM (#28271724)
like parent commenter said LA actually has a list of acceptable “street trees” that they’ve approved so they don’t kill the sidewalks. some of the most glorious trees you’ll see here are ficus, but those are not on the list because they do blow away sidewalks, streets, utilities. unbelievable shade trees though that require very little water.
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Re:Countering climate change with cool pavements by clairity on Monday August 23, 2021 @02:03AM (#28272724)
i just learned that a huge, grand old tree in my neighborhood is a species of ficus, and indeed, the sidewalk next to it is a buckled, gnarled mess. but i’d rather deal with that problem than harm the tree (it seems like it would be pretty straightforward to build a concrete ramp over the roots, like a mini-bridge).
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Re:Countering climate change with cool pavements by Tempest1981 on Monday August 23, 2021 @04:35AM (#28273510)
See if you can get a rubber sidewalk:

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=561579... (2006)

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Re:Countering climate change with cool pavements by clairity on Monday August 23, 2021 @11:55AM (#28277802)
that's neat, like the temporary flooring used for outdoor 3-on-3 basketball tournaments. a concrete bridge would probably be smoother, more durable, and require less maintenance, but the interlinked rubber segments would be easier to reuse/reposition over time and being semi-permeable is a useful property for other reasons.
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Re:Countering climate change with cool pavements by harmmonica on Monday August 23, 2021 @02:44PM (#28280206)
ah super cool. fully agree that taking a tree like that out would be a travesty. and I'm not insensitive to the infirm or disabled when having to deal with broken sidewalks, but taking those trees out would be a sin when there are other ways to address the root damage like the ramp you suggest or those rubber tile things.
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