'The Cell' ballpark in Chicago gets nation's largest permeable parking lot

摘要

More than 527,000 interlocking permeable pavement blocks make up parking lot L at US Cellular Field on Chicago's South Side. The 265,000-sf lot is the largest permeable pavement surface in the nation and can absorb 920 gallons of water a minute. "This surface will naturally collect and treat the stormwater that passes through it and save the city and taxpayers the cost of treating it later," said Perri Irmer, CEO of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which owns US Cellular Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox. Irmer said the $3.5 million project would have cost at least an additional $400,000 if it had been done with traditional asphalt.