Sarasota News Leader

09/21/12

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Sarasota News Leader September 21, 2012 from the early stages of discussions regard- ing the improvements. In his Aug. 24 letter, Anderson wrote, "The idea that pervious asphalt will soak up wa- ter instead of [the water] flowing out to the beach is a good idea in theory. However, when sand blows on the surface and fills the voids this will 'clog' the effectiveness of the asphalt." Anderson added that the county had tried using pervious asphalt in the municipal parking lot in Siesta Village and had found it ineffective, necessitating the repaving of that lot several years later. St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church on Midnight Pass Road had suffered the same fate with pervious asphalt in its park- ing lot, he noted. When SKA Director Joe Volpe brought up the municipal parking lot example during the SKA meeting, Patterson pointed out that that paving problem arose around 1996 or 1997, she believed. "I think they may have improved the product substan- tially since then," she added. Then SKA Director Bob Waechter point- ed out that pervious asphalt laid at Beach Access 12, just south of the Midnight Pass Road/Stickney Point Road intersection, was showing considerable wear and tear in the area used for the vehicle turn-around. (The improvements at that access were complet- ed just before Labor Day weekend in 2011.) One way to address that problem, Smith told the SKA audience, was to be careful about where the pervious asphalt was used. Page 53 The design team was aware of problems with the asphalt in areas that experienced heavier load bearing, he added. In his letter, Anderson suggested the coun- ty use a green product called Sun Shield. Because it is gray, he wrote, it would be 50% cooler on hot days; beach-goers could walk across it and not burn their feet. Using that product also would save the county money, he said, because the asphalt would last longer. Commissioner Jon Thaxton said during the Sept. 11 board meeting that the design team should have the opportunity to react to Anderson's points. "I'm not looking for anything but an email" providing the team's reaction, Patterson said. In her email, Eastwood forwarded to the commissioners comments from Stuart, ref- erencing findings at the University of Cen- tral Florida's Stormwater Management Academy "that porous asphalt is not rec- ommended for most applications here in Florida." Stuart's email adds that once sediment filled the pores in the asphalt, it "could not be effectively removed with a vacuum truck to restore the infiltration/storage capabili- ties." Moreover, Stuart added, "During the sum- mer, the pavement would heat up to near 120 degrees and the binder would become 'sticky' again and the sediments would be- come bound to the material permanently."

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