Here's a webinar on encouraging more solar panels over parking lots and along highway rights-of-way, a thing I don't care about.
But I do care about shade for people walking and biking, and have always wondered:
*Do the undersides of PV panels give off any absorbed heat?
*Would PV panel porticos over sidewalks/bike lanes/trails offer quality-of-trip benefits along with power generation?
https://environmentamerica.org/events/solar-on-highways-and-parking-lots/
@bikepedantic I care about shade for walking and biking right up until I actively don’t want it. I want sun’s warmth when it’s cold. And especially if you don’t clear snow, covering a trail from the top won’t stop drifts but will preclude them from getting melted
@Shadow This is all very true (and valid). Probably makes it a southern-specific idea. I do wonder if local power generation makes it easier to run low-power pavement warming elements
I was also going to throw the same curveball:
Trees, when planted BETWEEN the parking spots, don't generate electricity, but apart from that they:
-- give shade in summer, not in winter;
-- absorb large amounts of rain water
-- give a big traffic calming effect;
-- are beautiful and raise property values;
-- make you happy!
Here is an example of how it worked out in this posh street in Bonn, Germany. This same treatment is applied ALL OVER the Netherlands (less posh).
Street trees are climate resilience infrastructure.
And if you plant them BETWEEN the parked cars, that frees up space for a wider sidewalk.
BuT tHe OnStReEt PaRkInG
(I mean, yes, you get to have maybe 20-25% fewer parking spaces). Lookit those cherry blossoms tho!
Portland OR is trying it, and I heard Boston MA is seriously considering it.
@CelloMomOnCars @bikepedantic we have a spot in Providence that includes in-street trees. Doesn’t work everywhere tho
You can't blindly apply it everywhere. Here are trees canal-side in central Delft (NL)
They have these little rails to keep you from running into them as you sweat it out into the parking space. (And then you get out and hang onto your side mirror while you sidle over to the street side. Nobody comes home drunk here).
These are very young trees, replacing the stately ones that reached the end of their lifetime and made this canal magical.
Tell me which Providence street?
I'm a bit of a street infrastructure tourist.
I don't think that solar panels would work either, given that they might be shaded from buildings nearby. This limits where they can be placed.
@spookie what if not everywhere is a city @CelloMomOnCars @Shadow