Welcome
  • Home
  • Leadership
  • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Photo Gallery
  • Events
  • How You Can Help
  • Contact

Brick Is As Safe If Not Safer Than Concrete.

12/15/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Back in October there was a Facebook post from the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) highly critical of brick sidewalks entitled "Brick Sidewalks -- A Work in Progress".  The post was notable for its lack of supporting data to back up assertions made.  For instance, the piece states that brick sidewalks are harder for the disabled or elderly to navigate than concrete without acknowledging that concrete deteriorates rapidly, losing its integrity in ten years or less while brick lasts for centuries.  Also, concrete slabs are frequently upthrust for various reasons.  Each phenomena makes traversing concrete sidewalks difficult.

The article also omits mention of the fact that wire cut brick actually provides a smoother, much more durable ride than concrete as measured in engineering vibration tests.  
 
Both materials, wire cut brick and concrete, only provide satisfactory passage if properly installed and maintained.  Brick has the added advantage of being consistent with a two century old historical legacy in our city while concrete replacement sidewalks destroy that legacy.
 
Using brick as trim, although better than plain concrete, does not preserve our brick sidewalk legacy which gives the city its unique look and feel.
 
Finally, the post says that falls are far more numerous on brick than on concrete while providing no data to support the assertion.  CBC has checked with the City of Cambridge to learn that no city department keeps such data by type of material used on the sidewalks.

Regards,
Diane    
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Diane Whitney Beck
    VP and Director

    Archives

    December 2017
    July 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All
    Newsletters
    Press

    RSS Feed


Twitter
Facebook
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Leadership
  • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Photo Gallery
  • Events
  • How You Can Help
  • Contact