Council approves pervious‑concrete pilot for three Interlake parking stalls to test drainage

The council on Jan. 13 approved a pilot project to install pervious concrete in three existing parking stalls on Interlake Boulevard to address localized flooding and test a low‑impact stormwater approach.

Town Engineer Dennis Murray described the material and rationale: pervious concrete has a high void ratio that allows stormwater to infiltrate the material and drain through an engineered subbase rather than sheeting across pavement into storm drains. Murray said the technology is used elsewhere to reduce runoff and treat water on‑site, and he presented a brief record of construction photos from another site that used the same equipment and methods.

The pilot targets three stalls that were disturbed by recent utility work and have chronic ponding and silt issues. Murray said the stalls are a limited, observable demonstration with minimal impacts to adjacent traffic; the town engineer presented the project as a way to evaluate performance before recommending larger applications such as the depot area or other downtown locations.

Council approved the engineer’s request to proceed with the pervious concrete installation and to move forward with a small budget amendment from the infrastructure fund for the pilot. A motion was made and seconded; the roll call recorded in the transcript shows Councilmember Charles and "Council member Evar" voting yes, Member Hayes voting no and "Council member Lordly" voting yes; the motion passed. Murray said the project team will monitor the pilot and report performance and maintenance findings to council and suggested the stalls be inspected after several heavy rain events.

The pilot will be used to evaluate whether pervious concrete reduces standing water, improves pedestrian safety and avoids large conveyance or retention projects in the downtown corridor. Staff will return results and recommendations to council after monitoring.