Rubber sidewalks help reduce damage to tree roots in Calgary

Small stretches of rubber sidewalks have been popping up in Calgary, serving an important role in keeping the city’s infrastructure intact. For decades, city engineers struggled with mature tree roots cracking and lifting sidewalks, creating uneven steps and hazards for those who walk on them. The city traditionally turned to asphalt in those situations. “The hot asphalt is quite hot and can damage the tree root, so we found we’d end up with some root burn and potentially damag