Comments on: Stonegate paving, history, and authenticity

By: Lisa @YorkStories

Lisa @YorkStories — Fri, 27 May 2016 21:54:56 +0000

The common term still seems to be ‘tarmac’, doesn’t it, and perhaps ‘blacktop’ is only used by those in the know. I wouldn’t have thought about this, ordinarily, but when trying to compile a page where factual accuracy matters it seemed important to get the right term, and I’d noticed interchangeable terms and apparent confusion. Thanks Alan, for clarifying. Am hoping the whole thing has quietened down now …

By: Lisa @YorkStories

Lisa @YorkStories — Fri, 27 May 2016 21:49:53 +0000

You’re right Chris, and the endless and continuing repairs to the historic fabric are probably obvious in the Minster and the bar walls, less obvious perhaps elsewhere until something like this occurs in full public view. No doubt Stonegate’s expensive paving will be fully reinstated, but in the back alleys, as you note, the carefully laid and far more ‘authentic’/historic/irreplaceable paving will continue to be patched with tarmac.

By: Alan Lowey

Alan Lowey — Tue, 17 May 2016 09:37:58 +0000

For info: “Tarmac” was made from coal tar production and hasn’t been in common use for yonks. A later surfacing material was “Bitmac” (bituminous macadam). The modern term is “asphalt concrete”. “Blacktop” covers all these terms.

By: Lisa @YorkStories

Lisa @YorkStories — Mon, 16 May 2016 19:19:27 +0000

Certainly many of the Victorian streets have visible setts and those hexagonal paviours at the edges, in the gullies. I'm not sure if just the edges were paved like this. But certainly a lot of the old paving has had tarmac put over the top of it and you're right, it does break up sometimes and the original surface is visible. On the Layerthorpe project site I've a photo of an example in Layerthorpe. Regarding the point about the slipperiness, that highlights of course the other considerations the council has to keep in mind, not just whether paving looks nice but whether it forms a slipping or tripping hazard. The shinier it is presumably the more slippery it becomes - but the newly-laid paving doesn't necessarily compare well with the old - I've seen a woman slip and fall over in King's Square, apparently caused merely by standing on a wet leaf on that mirror-like surface of the recently laid slabs.

By: Lisa @YorkStories

Lisa @YorkStories — Mon, 16 May 2016 19:07:15 +0000

Changes to paving do change the character of the street, but perhaps much of the time we don’t notice, in the areas outside the historic core, such as on Cemetery Road, as you mention. I’ve noticed you’ve used the term ‘asphalt’ rather than tarmac, I wasn’t sure which to use as they seem to be used interchangeably. (Have also seen the term ‘black top’, presumably the same thing – and more descriptive as the blackness of this type of surfacing is the most striking aspect.)

By: Chris Rainger

Chris Rainger — Sun, 15 May 2016 22:27:36 +0000

Almost everything that we see around us and think of as ‘old’ has usually been repaired at times during its life, sometimes very extensively. Over time, the character things have after repair is dependant on the critical decisions people make is whether to adopt an approximate ‘like for like’ repair or whether to reflect the design ideas of the time when the work is undertaken.

The loss of historic character in a landscape, be it the buildings or surfacing, is a major factor in the gradual decline of our built environment.

I would like to believe that our council and its officers understand this, but the 2004 policy on replacing slag paving with tarmac makes depressing reading.