We may have another case of METRO "Selling the Sizzle" but instead of Beef, it's more baloney.

Sorry Purple Rose, but some of these selling points are not significantr benefits for Houston.

First, the fact that the material is pourous.  So!?

Perculation is a function of the soil.  The subsoil conditions for much of downtown are a Lake Charles Urban clay "Gumbo," and being sub-tropical, when we get typical rainfall, it comes at a rate of one-to-four inches per hour.  The vast majority of the rain is going to run-off into the streets, accumulate deeper than three inches, and still stop the Utopian "transit backbone" tram.

It seems to be priced triple of what concrete is priced at, but since METRO is wallowing in a tsunami of "Windfall" sales tax revenue, who cares what the total cost will be!

Texas generates tens of millions of used tires each year, but METRO is considering importing recycled tires from a Yankee State?

Has anyone ever considered that "Stilettos" were disfiguring and unsafe footware, and not healthy for women, and the long-manipulated fashion-addicted woumen could decide not to wear them?

It would be a lot cheaper for everyone, all-around.

Correction:  They are located in California, I was wrong.

It would be cheeper for people to buy rubber inserts into ther shoes than to replace concrete with rubber!

These rubberized sidewalks seem more applicable for safety purposes on children’s playgrounds. I can't imagine how hot a black rubber mat would get in July and August. I can think of numerous other areas for METRO to focus spending on to meet the future needs of a growing population whose congestion problems will only worsen in years to come.  To my knowledge, the only area that METRO has made any investment in cushy “rubber surfaces” is on the front bumper of the METRO buses.  Some may argue that this too was for the benefit of pedestrians.

<i>translating into $950,000 in potential sales and close to 90,000 potential square feet of rubberized sidewalk</i>

That's more than $10.50 per square foot. My handy-dandy Marshall and Swift cost manual says a 4" thick concrete sidewalk ought to cost about $3.50 per square foot.

These rubber sidewalks don't cost "one-third more than concrete" like the article says. They cost three times as much.

But the real question is: What does this have to do with Metro?

Matt,

I mentioned the estimated cost was about triple.

What chaps my hide is that there are/were Texas vendors of all-weather and rubberized surfaces for running tracts, tennis courts, and more recently children's play areas, so why import California's waste tires?

And this has WHAT to do with METRO again? Has METRO run out of things to waste money on and are looking for new boondoggles?

Is it true that rubber sidewalks attract pigeons?

I see pigeons when I wait for the bus every time so prolly so, Frank.

It might make some sense if concrete sidewals were built in blocks.  If they need to dig, or remove, a section, just put new blocks in its place.

Mary, do you work at the Metro administration building downtown?

Mary Sit said:  

"I will be writing not only about METRO on this blog but about transportation in general and issues that I think would interest commuters."

In regards to transportation in general why don't you do a story on how METRO intends to roll out the bike racks on METRO buses as promised in 2008?  METRO's 2008 budget year starts in October 2007 so its not far off.  In addition, this would help demonstrate to the public how METRO would be complying with the provisions of METRO Solutions that called for bike racks on all buses.

All three of the towns that you mentioned Seattle, Portland and Baltimore all have bike racks on their buses.  Why is METRO so slow on the uptick compared to other more progressive transit agencies?  It can't be for lack of funding.  A blog article from a few days ago said that METRO spent $16MM on cameras that will do little to increase ridership.

Nothing personal Mary, but that piece seemed more of a sales piece for the company.

Those panels always look cut and make sense when first seen on a shelf or in pictures. What really matters, especially to a city government or property owner is liability issues.

I have been in the construction business now for over 35 years and see every new gadget and idea possible. We installed rubber interlocking pads in a playground at the former Houston School for Deaf Children at Dallas and Shepherd and it sure looked cute and safe the first year but degrades and came apart after a few seasons of use. This was when it was placed over a solid surface and not soil.

The mistakes made with sidewalks is that they definitely do not reinforce the concrete with enough steel to withstand root growth and rarely do they stabilize the ground before pouring.

If you're real lucky, you might see them stabilize and compact the ground before pouring but the "steels the deal". West U is pouring right now and they compact but only use #4 rebar (from my passing vehicle at 30mph). If they were to upgrade to say #6 or #8 rebar, especially at trees, they would stand a better chance of longer life expectancy.

The rubber concept on dirt would be a real issue when the roots do push upward as it will not show up easily and someone's going to trip first.

Where Houston also fails miserable is in their tree rules. The Ordinances prohibit trees any closer than 2 feet from a curb. Right now they are planting oaks along Kirby between the sidewalks and curb that are only 2-3" caliper and 2 feet away. The Ordinance should state "2 feet minimum from the maximum caliper at maturity to the curb line or sidewalk".

The sidewalks and street on Kirby will fail much sooner due to the planting done and cost us far more, much quicker.

I called on this same issue where live oaks were planted 1 foot from the curbs at Metro's Smiths Landing parking lot. Those trees were pulled and relocated farther in where now they will ruin the parking lot first. They never did remove all of them though so we will pay (as tax payers) later.

Mary, is your office in the Metro administration building downtown?

You have to wonder what walking on concrete does to people, since our bodies weren't supposed to walk on such hard surfaces.  Feet, knees, even backs are for dirt or foliage, not hard cement.  Shoes help, but I wonder if in the future we will be using tech like this to avoid wear and tear on  our bodies.

Not to mention our shoes...  Initiatives like this help the less fortunate in our society, who cannot afford plush, comfortable sneakers and spend much of their time on sidewalks.

As someone who really enjoys "bussin' it" and walking, I would really appreciate this, save my shoes, save my knees, and sure: spend a little for it.

Royko:

Your comments about waste tires seem a little narrow-minded.  I live in Washington, and am more than happy to see California recycling their tires, however they can do it.  Anywhere we can recycle stuff it helps the global good, since this world is too small a place to think in terms of state lines when it comes to conservation.

"I live in Washington, and am more than happy to see California recycling their tires, however they can do it."

Yes, good for California. However, as Royko pointed out (and you ignored), Texas has vendors that sell rubber surfaces. Why should we import waste products and export money while waste tires pile up here?

No where did it say thery were going to use the CA company.  They just said they had a lot of inquiries about the product.  Also if the company in CA has a better product would you still stay use the Texas company..  Wait I can hear it now then in a few years the same people that screamed use TEXAS would then be complaining about how cheap the product was and how it did not hold up. PS did anyone say anything to these other Houston bussiness that contacted the CA company. <Interested Texas parties include developers, Lee College in Baytown, San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Memorial Club Townhouses Association Inc., and the City of Hunters Creek Village, added Joyce. The American Red Cross chapter in Orange, Tx., has a test sidewalk of 950 square feet on its property. >