New Driveway - Pictures

Here are some pictures of the new driveway completed by Duffy Willard Paving. We made the driveway slightly wider to accomodate two cars side by side, and we made it shorter to make the usable sideyard space larger. In terms of driveway length, we left a few extra feet of wiggle room behind where cars will park so that any snow being plowed from the street will not hit a car parked in the driveway.

Making a shorter driveway has not only made the usable (and sunny, for those gardeners out there) part of the yard larger; It has also improved the view of the yard from the porch. Now, if you are sitting on the porch, you will actually be overlooking your yard, not just a big driveway. Take a peek:



Don't try this at home folks



So there's our smaller driveway. In addition to the functional benefits, there are environmental benefits to minimizing paved area as well. For one, it helps reduce urban heat island effects (see link for more info). And, importantly, it helps improve water quality (in this case, in the Connecticut River, where our stormwater runs) by reducing the amount of runoff that goes to storm drains, as well as the associated contaminants that are carried by runoff (sediment, nutrients, nasty stuff from cars, etc.). And of course, again for the gardeners out there, less pavement in the sunny part of the yard now means you've got some extra space to grow your "farden" (farm-garden) and produce more of your food right at home!