Why do sidewalks have blocks, instead of being solid?
In: 205
There have already been a lot of answers about the advantages of individual concrete squares being better than solid paving at conforming to shifting ground.
But then the relevant question becomes “If that’s so much better, why is that ONLY done on the sidewalks and not the street?”
Answering that that’s the second half of the answer.
And the answer is that while it may be a cheaper way to keep the paving from breaking up as the ground settles and shifts, but it does it by making the paving squares mismatch a little as they settle on the shifting ground. If the main road was paved this way, it would mean the cars are driving on a very uneven surface that makes the wheels vibrate “BudaBudaBudaBudaBudaBuda” as the car goes over the tiles quickly. That reduces the top safe speed, and damages suspensions. To avoid that, it’s worth the extra ground preparation work it takes to make smooth surface paving. But on the surface that cars never go on, and only pedestrians do, the expense of doing that is harder to justify, since a person on foot isn’t going to be going that fast, and is going to be stepping rather than rolling, making the gaps between uneven tiles less of a problem.
Latest Answers