Project Background and Challenge
A new restaurant constructed adjacent to the Grimsby Rail Station required additional parking for its patrons. The area next to the station and in close proximity to a railway was ideal; however, there were restrictions on any excavation on this land for a traditional paved parking surface. The owner of Different Strokes Restaurant was looking for a permeable parking lot that could utilize this space without excavation requirements. The design/build contractor contacted Layfield for information on the GEOPAVE® Porous Paving System manufactured by Presto Geosystems.
The Product
The GEOPAVE® system’s structural framework holds highly permeable, open-graded aggregate to help promote on-site infiltration. Water flows through the pavement layer into the stormwater retention base layer for storage and natural percolation. The modular units are made of 97% recycled polyethylene with a monolithic mesh bottom that retains infill within the system.
The GEOPAVE® units lock together with the U-Clip installation tool and can be deployed in a herringbone or bricklayer pattern. The system supports daily traffic, including heavy loads, up to AASHTO HS25, typical in a parking lot surface.
Project Solution
1,550 units (750m2) of the GEOPAVE® pavers were installed in a herringbone pattern over a 6-inch compacted and graded granular base and then infilled with aggregate. Installers used a circular saw to trim the GEOPAVE® panels and achieve the desired rounded edges. The installation took approximately three days to complete.
Shortly after the installation of the permeable parking lot, a heavy downpour was recorded in the area. The precipitation infiltrated on-site with no runoff pooling within the parking surface. The contractor expressed interest in integrating the GEOPAVE® system into future projects due to the speed and efficiency of the installation.
