Main Street, Cambridge, Ontario Canada
According to a recent Canadian newspaper article (by Ashley Csanady, The Record), local residents and shop owners have found much to like with the Main Street renovations in Cambridge Ontario.
“The recent renovations to Main Street in downtown Galt aim to boost street traffic and improve pedestrian sidewalks. The $1-million project’s completion was celebrated Saturday in Cambridge to kick off Galt Grand Fest celebrations throughout the weekend.”
“It’s phenomenal,” said Arand, who sat outside what will soon be his storefront. “Personally, I’ve got a thing for the benches,” he said, gesturing at a black bench that looks more like woven ebony ribbon than crisscrossed metal.
He also likes the trees, which are, surprisingly, one of the more contemporary aspects of the streetscape. Arand hopes to watch the trees grow alongside his business. He wants to expand to uptown Waterloo someday, but he decided to open his first shop in Cambridge.
The irrigation system that runs beneath the octagonal grating surrounding the tree trunks is designed to increase their longevity. “They provide a better growing environment for the trees,” said Craig Melvin of Citygreen® Canada, which supplied the Stratacells.
Citygreen Stratacells™ were used, being placed in tree pits dug between the buildings and the roadway. Citygreen Stratacells are patented, load-bearing engineered plastic modules with vertical and lateral interlocks which create void space beneath pavements. After a suitably sized tree pit has been dug, taking into account the mature root size of the selected trees, multiple layers of Stratacells are placed in the pit and snapped together to form a matrix. An opening for the tree root ball is provided within the matrix.
These cells provide structural support for the footpath and adjacent roadway while creating a void for filling with soil for the trees. The cells prevent the soil becoming compacted, ensuring the tree roots can obtain essential oxygen, water and other nutrients.
The more pedestrian-friendly and accessible street is an attempt by the city to draw and keep more entrepreneurs in the area, but it also highlights the beautiful architecture of the old buildings in the core.
“The overall look really does tie in with the buildings and it does seem more spacious,’ said Susan Reise, landscape architect for the City of Cambridge, adding, “even though we didn’t change the width of the sidewalk.” Instead, they city moved the trees, benches and landscaping closer to the road to create wider sidewalks without stealing space from the road.
The incorporation of these tall attractive looking Ornamental Pears and Princeton Sentrys are a welcome improvement, and worthwhile investment to the Main Street. This project has been a great opportunity for the City of Cambridge to compare the latest structural cell technology (incorporating larger soil volumes), with the traditional rock-matrix method of planting trees in pavement.
Contact your Citygreen distributor for more information about this product, or visit www.citygreen.com/