Northeast Borough in Erie County is now home to a new porous pavement parking lot, thanks in part to a $150,000 Growing Greener grant.

The Baker Creek Watershed Association received the grant to create 320 feet of new streamside buffer, nearly 8,000 square feet of green space, 340 square yards of infiltration galley and 1,350 square yards of pervious parking service in the center of the downtown. In addition, roof runoff from surrounding business building was captured and redirected into infiltration galleys to eliminate the surface flushing effect.

Baker Creek Watershed Association Chairman John Hallenburg said, “We took a situation where 100 percent of the downtown urban runoff in this area was being discharged directly into Baker Creek --- both at point and nonpoint sources. This project enables us to capture nearly all of it, drastically reducing peak storm discharges and urban nonpoint pollution.”

In addition to the permeable surface that will allow precipitation to be filtered as it percolates into the ground, native plants and a bioretention area are being installed to further improve the ecological functioning of the area.

Growing Greener has helped to develop five porous pavement parking lots in Erie County-- Asbury Woods Trail Head, the Erie County Conservation District, Unitarian Church and Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies.

In addition to the Growing Greener grant, North East Borough, the North East Chamber of Commerce, the Northeast Shade Tree Commission, the North East Garden Club and downtown North East businesses contributed funds and in-kind services.

Other contributions included the Great Lakes Commission $98,000 under its program to control erosion and sedimentation within the Great Lakes Basin, the DEP Coastal Zone Management Program provided $10,640 for parking lot planning and design and the Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania offered $5,000 for riparian buffer vegetation.

NewsClip: Eco-Friendly Municipal Parking Lot Debuts in Downtown Northeast

7/15/2005