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A very common situation where a planted parking island (or any other planted area located between 'desire lines') has been walked through to the extent that a permanent pathway has been created. |
Sidewalks and pathways should to the greatest extent possible be positioned along "desire lines", which are preferred pedestrian access routes based on convenience of travelling from one location to another. When not placed in a manner that best accomodates desire lines, people will develop damaging and unsightly paths across turf areas and through ornamental plantings.
However, there are numerous instances where
excessive foot traffic is a problem. Where this occurs, it is possible
to ameliorate the situation through site modification, primarily by either
installing some sort of path material or a turf reinforcement system.
Damage to Planted Areas
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A very common situation where a planted parking island (or any other planted area located between 'desire lines') has been walked through to the extent that a permanent pathway has been created. |
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These photos show examples of retrofitted solutions where people have insisted on walking through parking lot islands and surrounding shrub beds. When "desire lines" are not adequately considered in the design, pedestrians will normally create there own pathways, leading to damaged plants and denuded, muddy areas. Rather than fight against peoples' natural tendencies, it is best to plan for them in the design of new facilities and add retrofitted pathway materials such as these in places where pedestrian circulation was not properly addressed. |
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The design of pedestrian
circulation for urban facilities has an impact on turf quality. Wear
patterns in turf are often created when the design of the hardscape does
not adequately address foot traffic.
The photos at left illustrate how 90 degree corners in sidewalks are seldom heeded. These sidewalks should have been designed to essentially match the sweeping curve that has been created by the pedestrians. (Also note in the upper left photo how the light pedestals were designed to jut out into the lawn and have no mowing strips provided at their base.) The top photo shows a pathway between the end of the sidewalk (foreground) and the park playground (background) that has been created by pedestrians and bicyclists along this 'desire line' (note bicyclist using path to left of playground). |
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| An area at an elementary school where the grass was constantly denuded until this concrete was added by a class as part of the school district's IPM program. | Concrete was retrofitted to the inside curve of this sidewalk, which was too sharp as originally built. |
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This is the access point to an underground parking garage. It is used regularly and the pavers provided are not adequate. Instead, the concrete from the sidewalk shoud have been extended to also include this area. |
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| Installing a
turf protection system to a small patch of turf that was constantly denuded
by heavy foot traffic. Fabric supports black plastic honeycomb which
is installed level with the soil surface. Honeycomb is filled with
good soil and/or plugs of turfgrass. Years later the system is still
protecting the turf from heavy pedestrian use across corner of lawn.
Note (lower left) underlayment of a fenceline that once was a sprayed, weedy, unsightly feature. |
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| Turf protection systems that have not provided good results. Choice of product and installation practices make a big difference in how well such products work. Research IPM tools well and use pilot projects to evaluate and determine optimum methods of use/installation before wide scale applications are made. | |
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