The Future of Flight has a new-style parking lot that’s green as in environmentally friendly, and green as in color.
It’s made from a relatively new product called “Grasspave2,” sold by a Colorado company, Invisible Structures. It has a porous gravel base topped by a series of plastic rings. The rings are filled with sand and grass seed; the grass grows up through the rings, creating a firm surface for parking.
There are advantages to the system, said Andrew Rardin, environmental manager for Paine Field and the construction manager for the Future of Flight.
There’s no runoff with the Grasspave2 system, unlike a traditional parking lot. That means the project didn’t need an extensive storm-water retention pond. The grass also filters out pollutants such as motor oil and grease.
“We chose it for those reasons,” Rardin said. “It’s environmentally friendly.”
The Future of Flight parking lot is one of the largest applications of Grasspave2 technology in the region, Rardin said, and it’s a pilot project for Snohomish County planners, who are interested in seeing how well it works.
Contractors working on the Future of Flight have been parking on the grass for a couple of months, Rardin said. So far, he’s sold.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. “It’s great stuff. It’s wonderful and holds up very very well.”
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