Spokane = Copenhagen

Did Spokane beat Copenhagen to an idea about using bike lanes to treat stormwater?

Is that possible? Seriously?

The answer: Maybe.

First off, in October, I wrote about the city’s idea to build bike lanes using permeable pavement on the South Hill and near Gonzaga University . Put simply, the theory is that rain will go through the pavement (because it’s permeable) and into the soil, where it is filtered via natural processes and diverted from the treatment plant. Bikes are light, unlike cars, so they won’t destroy the pavement, which is weaker than the stuff we use for vehicular traffic.

And then, on Copenhagenize.com , there came this article just this month, which has a very similar idea with a very similar purpose .

By my count, Spokane had the idea about six months ahead of Copenhagen. So what do you think? Are Spokanites smarter than Copenhageners? Do the ideas have merit?

Illustrations courtesy Copenhagenize.com