Roadway Medians

City of Los Angeles, CA Median Project

In an effort to enhance the look of the roadways in Los Angeles, the city of LA decided to look for an alternative to the colored concrete method they had been using in the past. Over time these concrete medians were deteriorating and had become an eye sore to passers-by. The city had been using concrete instead of natural sod in order to reduce maintenance costs and to save water due to the water crisis in California, however, by doing so it sacrificed the appearance. Wanting a look of healthy, green grass they turned to SYNLawn for help. Bill Robertson, the director of the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works Bureau of Street Services, decided to install SYNLawn on a test median in the city. An eighth of a mile stretch along Sherman Way was chosen for the test.

Case Study Details

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After selecting the location of the test median, SYNBlue was chosen as the product to install. The City chose SYNBlue Premium 200 synthetic grass for efficient installation practices, installation on steep inclines and ability to endure the hot California sun while maintaining a healthy grass appearance.

The installation procedure was a quick process with minimal traffic disruption. No infill is required when installing SYNBlue synthetic grass which helped speed the installation process along and was perfect for installing on inclines. Artificial grass products that do require infill simply would have failed this test as the infill materials would tend to migrate down the slopes of inclined areas. And as the infill migrated, the median would require routine maintenance which would not have met the criteria of the test. After installing SYNLawn on Sherman Way, the city found it to be extremely efficient to install and loved the appearance of natural grass on the median. The test was proving to be a success for the City of Los Angeles.

After 9 months from the original installation, evaluations were conducted on the SYNBlue artificial grass. The results showed that the installation had no visible signs of wear, there were no areas of base deterioration, no fiber loss and no UVA degradation to the artificial turf.