 |
| Seduisant, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons |
I'm
not sure when or where the design idea originated or what their
function is. Maybe a trendy landscaping idea imported from the US where
concrete jungles needed some greening up along the roadside to break the
monotony. We've enough green already in Ireland and an abundance of
hedgerows. Maybe reserve them for places more "concretey"?
- They waste "real estate" that be could be used for creating adequately wide foothpaths. Sometimes they're as wide as the lane of the adjoining road and often wider than the foothpath.
- They're usually full of dog shit and other nasty stuff.
- They're an unpleasant obstacle when crossing a road, especially when grass is allowed to grow long for biodiversity reasons and then ends up soaking wet. Usually there are an inadequate number, if any, crossing points in the verges.
- They often end up with huge, unsightly ruts in them when trucks decide to pull in and park on them.
- If there's any broken glass from smashed bottles in them, it can't be seen when the grass is allowed to grow long, potentially leading to foot injuries.
Any more reasons why they're impractical?