| City Set to Endorse Water-Wise Landscaping
(KCPW News) Covering your yard in water-wise plants and decorative bark is technically against the law in Salt Lake City. Landscaping codes require yards to be covered in grass - but that no longer fits with the city's water conservation goals. The Salt Lake City Council is now on the verge of making xeriscaped yards legit. On April 17th, the City Council will hold a public hearing on changes to the law that will require only one-third of a yard to be filled with grass or other plants. The rest of the yard can be covered in mulch, gravel or rocks. But first, city water conservation coordinator Stephanie Duer says the city must calm the fears of those who think the change will give people an excuse to abandon their yards in favor of weeds and parked cars. Duer says the city has other laws to address those issues.
NCA's high-rise will burden centre with a landscape of cars
Major developments proposed by the NCA for our national capital have recently been strongly criticised in the public forum, notably by concerned persons well qualified to recognise significant failings in both the concepts and means of implementation. My humble observation as a one-time traffic engineer is that the road traffic generated by the high-density development embraced in draft amendments 53 and 59 will not be accommodated by the spectacularly inadequate proposed transport provisions. In particular, the intensive high-rise development proposed along and near the Commonwealth Avenue/Northbourne Avenue corridor will attract vehicle movements which can only be accommodated by increases in the capacity of the road network. Unfortunately there are no suitable alternative routes for the generated northbound and southbound traffic.
Modern Balinese designs
Although elite travellers to Bali may not have heard of Karl Princic, most would be familiar with his beautiful gardens and landscapes. Princic was the master plan consultant for the 100-hectare Bali Golf and Country Club project in Nusa Dua, which opened in 1991. He was responsible for the hardscape and softscape design and coordination of all the landscape areas associated with the golf course, clubhouse and common development area. The project won the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Design Excellence Award in 1993. .
Parking lot to sprout at Phipps
Regular visitors to Oakland might be shocked to find something unusual on the front lawn of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens this summer: parked cars. In order to accommodate visitors who struggle to find parking in Oakland, Phipps has begun construction on a 100-space "green overflow" parking area on its Schenley Park campus. To be used only as needed -- primarily weekends, during such marquee shows as the upcoming exhibit of celebrated glass artist Dale Chihuly -- the lot will be constructed of high-strength plastic blocks with an open-cell design that allows grass to grow through and over them. Phipps officials say the "geoblocks," designed by Alcoa from recycled materials, are practically invisible. No lines will be painted on the grass, and the lawn will look as it did before work began last week.
|
