For Immediate Release
Date: July 17, 2015

WHAT: Celebration of the completion of the York Street Permeable Pavers Project

WHO: Mayor Edna Jackson, City Aldermen and staff will join with York Street merchants

WHEN: 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 21

WHERE: West York Street, between Bull and Whitaker Street

WHY: This section of York Street will serve as the showcase for a new initiative designed to improve drainage, reduce runoff and facilitate development in the downtown area. Asphalt bricks previously used in paving City streets have been replaced with permeable pavers. The asphalt bricks were not designed to carry today’s traffic loads and tended to become misshaped soon after installation. The new permeable pavers are rated for current street traffic loads and offer the additional benefit of allowing storm-water runoff to penetrate the base beneath the pavers. The pavers sit on three different layers of stone that permit water to pass through the roadway, allowing the water to be absorbed into the ground, thereby reducing the volume of water running into the City’s storm-water system and into local waterways.

The initiative is funded through an innovative program designed to allow developers to purchase credits to meet certain stormwater development guidelines. This credit revenue is then used to fund public permeable paving projects in the downtown area.