Doing Parking Islands the right way

Laurel has a lot - a LOT! - of surface parking.  These lots collect stormwater (and motor oil and antifreeze and debris) and send them directly into the nearby Patuxent river, and eventually into the Chesapeake. While treating all this stormwater prior to it reaching the river is expensive, there is a ubiquitous tool that can treat some of it :  the humble parking island.

Old style parking islands 

But instead of making them like the one above, for the same amount of money, they can be made like these:

"Green" parking islands

Capturing & treating run-off before it enters storm water inlets (photo credits: Lisa Zimmerman)

These parking islands are slowly becoming more common. They capture filter run-off from moderate storms. The only main difference between these "green" islands and traditional ones is 1) the use of rocks to slow down and capture water flow; 2) the types of plants that go in the island.

With a new Walgreens coming to town, and a new (reconfigured) parking lot,  the City presently has the opportunity to try and start "greening" some its parking lots.

Edmonston, Maryland's Green Street

This post, while not about Laurel, may still be informative to our City's environmentally-conscious residents.
Yesterday, I stopped by the official street dedication of the greening of Decatur Street in Edmonston, MD.  They received a Federal Grant and applied it to:

• Reducing stormwater run-off
• Installing new LED overhead street lighting
• Adding bike lanes
• All new ADA compliant sidewalk and ramps
• Decorative, high-visibility crosswalks

Words can't do justice to the planning and effort put forth by Edmonston's Mayor Ortiz and his Staff, so here are some pictures that I hope will:


View of Decatur Street looking West toward Anacostia River



Another view of Decatur Street, showing bike lanes and street lamps

Edmonston is lucky to have the Northeast Branch Trail pass through their Town

90% of the stormwater run-off is collected in curbside biorention cells.

Another view of the bioretention cell

Yet another view.

New LED street lamps, powered by wind energy

LED bulb