It occurred to me that perhaps I had so much more to write about regarding Korea than Sweden, because I have become accustomed to things here in Sweden. So I decided to spend some time posting about everyday things that are different here than in the US.
Today - it's roads.
Not all roads in the area are cobblestone, but it is not unusual. Especially on side streets and pedestrian only streets. What is funny is that we, and many other Americans we know, assumed that these streets were very old. I guess I thought that because in the US, although there used to be brick laid streets, they have almost always been buried under many layers of blacktop (asphalt). But here, although maybe the street is old, it might not be at all. Cobbles are still used on streets and sidewalks. If repair work is needed on the road, or on pipelines below the road, the cobbles are picked up, put off to the side, and then replaced when the work is completed.
They look lovely (although I found this pattern a little dizzying), but can be a little difficult to walk on. Not many women around here where high heeled shoes, and maybe this is a reason!
Carolyn, the reasons for using it are manifold. First of all, they look good (well, it's subjective but I think most people agree on that), but it's more important that both the basalt (of volcanic origin) and the granite (used mainly here in Scandinavia) are very hard rocks and they endure the weights of heavy vehicles (buses, trucks) much better than the asphalt, which can soften up and deform especially when the temperature goes over 30°C (this is why it's used e.g. in bus stops or at speedbumps where mass forces interact with the road for a longer period of time or are multiplied by braking, when the vehicles' momentum moves its centre of gravity forward, that is, puts a higher load on the front axis. Apart from that, cobblestone has another positive side-effect: a speed limit might often be overlooked by careless drivers but they immediately notice that the surface of the road has changed under them. While it's obviously not impossible, it's much less tempting to speed on cobblestone as it produces noise and vibration, so it functions as a very effective tool against careless speeding – hence its heavy use, amongst others, in downtowns' 30 km/h zones or at places where vehicles and pedestrians use the street jointly.
ReplyDeleteI now, all these are hardly any consolation for the ladies willing to wear high heels... ;o)
Med vänliga hälsningar,
Balázs
Balázs, Thank you for your insights ! Additionally, I like the fact that the stones can be applied, and then reapplied. : )
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