Greening the Rails

Portland is well-known for having one of the best light-rail systems in the country. Through an efficient combination of train and streetcar - served by a great bus system, makes getting around the region sans car relatively pain free. A recent post from Inhabitat definitely struck home a point regarding a retrofit that could make this green transportation system even literally more green. As opposed to a car, rail only makes contact at two thin points along the track alignment. By looking at these corridors on which the trains run - which have interstitial areas that are typically paved with a variety of surfaces, there is an opportunity to create less impervious surfaces through the incorporation of greenery.

Could Portland's rails evolve from this...


:: image via IgoUgo

...to something more like this?

It's not a surprise that this is a common practice in Europe, which is covered extensively in the Inhabitat post from around the continent. The images are self-explanatory and seem quite simple, and are summed up in the post: "...these swaths of green provide a host of benefits to any urban area, like reducing urban heat island effect, providing a permeable surface for storm water to infiltrate, and reducing pollution. And did we mention that it looks so much prettier than concrete or asphalt?" Agreed.

:: images via Inhabitat

There are obviously some maintenance issues with this type of installation - but with proper specification of plantings, the cost-benefit would seem to make a lot of sense to me. Plus, as we evolve to a more green-job centered economy, the additional dollars can be funneled towards maintenance of this and other green infrastructure facilities. And really, there's a natural entropic evolution of rail beds to deteriorate into a more verdant state, although perhaps not the type of vegetation one desires. By being purposeful in lower-maintenance planting in these spaces, there are miles of opportunity for greening the rails.

:: image via Space Invading