On August 7th, the Environmental Advisory Board(EAB) and Stormwater Management Advisory Commission(SMAC) presented a report to City Council on curb and gutter requirements. Members of both EAB and SMAC dedicated tremendous amounts of time and energy to researching and analyzing existing city curb and gutter codes and alternative stormwater management devices. The City Council has sent the report to the Comprehensive Planning Committee for review, and the committee is expected to discuss the report at their next meeting on August 29th.
In their findings the EAB recommended that City Council look at removing the requirement for curb and gutter on all streets within the city to allow for more innovative stormwater management practices. Removing the requirement for curb and gutter would allow the city to put in best management practices(bmps) such as rain gardens and vegetated swails, which would allow for on-site infiltration of stormwater and reduse stress on our existing stormwater infrastructure.
This is a very exciting report, and WakeUP Wake County hopes it is just the first step to incorporating Low Impact Design(LID) standards in Raleigh’s codes. We would like to thank all of the members of the EAB and SMAC that worked on this joint report for their hardwork and diligence; it is through the work of individuals such as these that Raleigh is becoming an even greater place to live.
To read the full report or view the presentation, click on one of the links below: