Willow Creek Gets Permeable Pavers for Parking Lot

The Board of Education approved a contract Monday night to redo parking lot with permeable pavers instead of asphalt. 

The district talked of replacing the school's parking lot earlier this year due to the lot's age and deterioration. Using permeable pavers instead of asphalt for the new lot will mean both financial and environmental benefits for the district. 

Permeable pavers are like interlocking stones built on a bed of blocks and sand. The sand holds the pavers in place, restrained by the lot's outside perimeter. 

The permeability of the new parking lot allows water to filter through the pavers and blocks to the soil below. 

The school board approved a $226,777 contract with A Lamp Concrete Contractors, Inc. at its monthly meeting Monday. 

Kevin Wegner, assistant superintendent of business for District 68, said an asphalt parking lot would have cost $168,000, but the cost difference would be made up over time. 

The difference is in the maintenance and life span of the lots. An asphalt parking lot would require $20,000 a year for patching and maintenance and would last 15 to 20 years. Maintenance for a permeable paver parking lot would include vacuuming between the space between the pavers and is said to last 100 years. 

The $226,777 cost covers work on both the Willow Creek parking lot and the sidewalk leading to the school. A reading garden also will be added, Wegner said. 

Willow Creek's new parking lot will be in place in early August.