§ 19-155 Study of alternative roadway and sidewalk materials.
AC § 19-155
a. The department and the department of environmental protection shall conduct a study on the possible use of permeable materials on roadways and sidewalks under the jurisdiction of the department. Such study shall include the following: (i) various types of permeable material for roadway and sidewalk use; (ii) the expected costs of such materials and the projected feasibility of such materials, including but not limited to durability, operational function and performance; (iii) the volume of stormwater anticipated to be permeated through such materials; (iv) recommendations and limitations regarding the use of permeable materials on roadways and sidewalks under the jurisdiction of the department; (v) the maintenance practices for such roadways and sidewalks and estimated costs of such practices; (vi) the effect on utilities and other entities that will need to make cuts in such roadways and sidewalks; (vii) methods to restore the porosity of such roadways and sidewalks and an estimate of the costs of such methods; (viii) recommendations regarding the use and limitations of permeable materials by private property owners on private roadways, parking lots and sidewalks; and (ix) a determination on whether a uniform standard on the use of permeable materials in sidewalks within the city of New York is appropriate, based on the results of the study and pilot required pursuant to subdivisions a and b of this section. If such uniform standards are deemed appropriate, the department, in consultation with other agencies including but not limited to the department of parks and recreation and the department of design and construction, shall make recommendations and exceptions to such uniform standard. Such study shall be completed and delivered to the speaker of the council and posted on the department's website not more than thirty months following the effective date of the local law that added this section. b. The department shall undertake a pilot program on the use of permeable materials on roadway and sidewalk surfaces as part of the study required pursuant to subdivision a of this section. Such pilot program shall include evaluation of permeable materials in three different types of roadway conditions and three different types of sidewalk conditions, with such conditions including but not limited to roadway and pedestrian volume and locations susceptible to flooding. The department shall consult with the department of environmental protection prior to choosing the locations for such pilot program. A report on such pilot program shall be completed and delivered to the speaker of the council and posted on the department's website not more than one hundred twenty days following the completion of the pilot program.
