Philadelphia Unrolls A 'Green' Roof On A SEPTA Bus Shelter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Mayor Michael Nutter today released a progress report on his ambitious "Greenworks Philadelphia" initiative. The event was held next to the newest, greenest roof in the city -- atop a SEPTA bus shelter at 15th and Market Streets, just across from City Hall.
It's a deployable, prefabricated green roof, about the size of a living room rug. Mayor Nutter says it's is a small example to show passersby a new type of city greening.
"That is truly amazing in helping to prevent polluted stormwater from going into our rivers," he said.
The Mount Airy-based company Roofmeadow designed and produced the green roof for the bus shelter. Roofmeadow's Melissa Muroff basked in the sunshine during the event, but says the real test comes when it's raining:
"You can watch all that water rushing down the sidewalk into the gutter, and then look at the downspout and wait and see if any water comes down that downspout at all."
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Whether installed on high-rises, homes, or smaller buildings in between, Muroff says green roofs absorb rainwater and stop its flow from overburdening the city's old storm-water system.
Reported by Steve Tawa, KYW Newsradio 1060
