I was surprised and pleased to read that the Riverside Board of Trustees has voted to allow gravel driveways to remain instead of requiring them to be replaced with paving. Their comments, however, are another example of how totally “unwoke” the board, and Riverside in general is, about environmental issues.
When properly installed, gravel drives are very effective in water management, because they allow water to percolate into the earth, instead of streaming off into lower areas, like yards, and flooding them. They are a much better alternative than the ubiquitous asphalt or concrete paving and even more historically accurate.
If more Riverside residents had gravel driveways, it would be a big step toward helping alleviate the flooding problems that have become annual events here.
While permeable pavers are good, they are more expensive to install and do require maintenance, which is never cheap, because they can silt up over time and thereby lose effectiveness. Obviously that is why the village obtained federal grants for the Burlington and train station parking lots.
It is gratifying to see the board making an environmentally sound decision even if they are unaware of it.
Jacquelyn Paine
Riverside
