Artificial lawn could be used for Marion nature strips under a plan to make streets greener

Could we see artificial lawn on nature strips in Adelaide’s southwest? A council is investigating the idea to make the streets greener.

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Artificial lawn would start appearing on nature strips in the City of Marion if a councillor succeeds in changing the rules on its use and management.

Residents would be able to install the turf on strips outside their properties provided they accepted responsibility for its installation and maintenance under the proposal tabled by Cr Luke Hutchinson.

He made his call on aesthetic grounds at Tuesday’s council meeting, and found a seconder in Cr Tim Pfeiffer.

The idea was put on hold so the council could obtain more information.

“Let’s see green over grey,” Cr Hutchinson said.

An example of artificial lawn on a nature strip in Melbourne.

The ‘verge development guideline’ endorsed by the council in 2018 excluded artificial turf because of concerns around its installation, maintenance and the environment.

Cr Hutchinson said he agreed at the time but changed his mind because it would help the council achieve its objective to make the streets greener.

“What is clear to me is that, regardless of how many trees we plant, there will still be many streets where residents have compact dolomite or clay verges which aren’t achieving that overall goal,” Cr Hutchinson said.

He added it was unlikely the council would be inundated with applications to install fake turf but residents should have the option.

He spoke to one resident who wanted to beautify a heavily shaded footpath that would struggled to grow real grass.

“Trees overshadow his very narrow verge but he wants to make it greener,” Cr Hutchinson said.

“He currently has a dolomite-style verge — it’s not a good look.”

Flinders University’s sustainability manager, Mathew Jeffrey, said the performance of artificial turf “was second-rate compared to native plants, and heat and drought-tolerant vegetation”.

“The use of fake grass, while marketed as a simple, easy and maintenance-free version of real turf, only acts to provide a hint of colour in an otherwise black and grey environment,” he said.

Could we see artificial turf on Marion’s nature strips?

“It offers little or no benefit managing heat — in fact, it can get very hot —- and can make it harder for water to penetrate into the ground, potentially leading to additional stormwater run-off.”

Mr Jeffrey said bits of artificial grass could break off and linger in the environment, “adding to the foreign materials in our soil, waterways and oceans”.

“Fake grass may look more colourful than concrete or bitumen but it is a poor alternative to creating highly liveable urban environments,” he said.

Real lawn wasn’t the only alternative — people could look to plants, especially natives, which were tolerant of Adelaide’s hot summers and cold winters.

“If chosen correctly, you can achieve all the benefits of a diverse, native environment with little of the maintenance you would have planting grass or turf,” he said.

The president of Flinders University’s community permaculture garden, Josh Jarvis, said fake grass can destroy micro-organisms in the soil underneath it, affecting the health of plants around it.

“Councils should be continuing to double down on low maintenance, biodiverse native plantings,” he said.

Cr Joseph Masika, who spoke against the motion, was concerned about chemicals from the product making their way into the soil.

“Before we allow people to install it on the street, let’s get an expert opinion,” he said.

Mayor Kris Hanna called for the issue to be delayed until April to give staff a chance to gather more information.

Seconded by Cr Jason Veliskou, this proposal was put to the vote.

It divided councillors down the middle but was carried by the mayor’s casting vote.