Street Planter Trial at Street party

At the Beech Croft Road Street PArty , most of the residents in our 'Hamlet' looked at the two options of Planter on view in the actual context of the street. Those present [from memory] Bim and Monika [46] , Ian and Kate [47] , Andrew and Kate [41], Sally and Tony [45], Penny and Graham [44], and Eric [48].
The unanimous decision was that the large planter was too big {and too ugly: not in keeping with the architecture of the street}. The smaller Gothic design planter did not please everyone with its look, but all agreed it was a more appropriate size.

Painted 'Carpet' Test Pattern

The installation, ceremonial de-masking, and final appearance of the BCR road paint test was a terrific moment. Nearly all members of the BCRA committee did the painting, as did Andrew Farmery and Pete Geekie who both have extensive experience with epoxy-based paints. The exuberant Dot Merriot (pictured with mask on) also did a shift. All the comments I personally received on Saturday were very positive. I am very grateful for the number of people who were (understandably!) skeptical that road paint would be a good idea and then mentioned they were pleasantly surprised with the final result.

Alex Allen from Sustrans as well as Shaun Hatton from Oxford City Council Works were both present on Saturday. Anthony Kirkwood from Oxfordshire County Council who is overseeing the DIY Streets Scheme has come by for an inspection and is pleased with the results.

Following an upcoming BCRA meeting with the Council to officially approve the test's success, assuming a positive result, residents can continue painting more carpets. This will involve a series of road closures, but we can continue to do so as 'access only' so as to minimize the disruption for residents.

Design for a foldable bench/planter

This is a very simplified sketch of a bench design that can be disabled by residents so that the seat folds up when preferable. The mechanism for holding the seat in an upright position is not illustrated here, but it stays up without a lock. In a vertical position, the seat board closest to the hinge drops into a slot routed into a block along the side of the planters and falls down into place, thus locking the seat in a vertical position. Unless you knew how to open the seat, it would not be obvious how it flipped downwards, as the design partially conceals the drop hinge. Details of this hidden mechanism will be posted at a later date.

The bench would be at a 45 degree angle to the kerb rather than parallel to it. This design obviates the need to bolt the bench to the ground as the weight of the planters keeps it in place.

The concept is pictured here in open and closed positions.

Road Paint information

The roadpaint is called "Hycolour 193" and is a two-part resin paint that dries quickly. It looks to be smelly stuff, so if you're in the immediate vicinity of the painting test area (16 - 18) then it may be a bit smelly for a few hours.

The colours we're using are "Venetian Red" and "Fawn". Bear in mind the colours may look too bright at first, but they will fade somewhat in a few months.

Certificates

* BAst P5
* AETEC P7 (Research)

More information about the paint on: http://www.adbruf.net/index.php/hycolour-193.html

Painted 'Carpet' Test Pattern

This pattern is a slight modification from previous ones. The larger clusters of same-colour diamonds that featured in the previous carpet designs presented a problem with geometry on account of the large 'repeat'. This revised design has a smaller repeat and will ensure symmetry is retained over the various sizes the carpets will need be along the street (eg when running along parking spaces).

This will be the test pattern painted during the street party.

Budget 1 July

We've already purchased our six large fibreglass planters. Firm figures are now in for bike rack manufacture and purchase. The road paint budget is confirmed at £1200. More accurate figures are now in for a transformable bench (including two additional triangular planters that hold the bench down), should this turn out to be the preferred design instead of a picnic table. The picnic table option is far less expensive, coming in under £300 instead of the £900 a transformable bench and ballast planters would come to. However, a picnic table might need to be fixed to the street which would create some more expenditure, and require an additional 'sacrificial' trellis planter to buffer it from the street.

There may be room in the budget for signage, but this figure is likely to be eaten up as a contingency. So far, we're coming in right on target.

However, we do not have firm figures for the trees or the 'extras' we might encounter. These figures remain fairly rough estimates.