A Rubberway jogging trail installed at the Houstonian Hotel in Houston, Texas is still intact after being submerged in floodwaters for over a week following Hurricane Harvey.
The Rubberway rubber sidewalk system installed at the Houstonian Hotel as an outdoor jogging trail was specifically designed to accommodate Houston's varied weather, including large amounts of rain and potential flooding, but the magnitude of flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey exceeded any normal predictions.
The Houstonian Hotel is admired for many reasons, with one being their active participation in maintaining a sustainability program for their hotel, club, spa, and 18-acre grounds. They sought out Rubberway as a sustainable solution for reinventing their outdoor jogging trail.
Rubberway rubber sidewalks and jogging trails utilize regional, recycled rubber to create comfortable, ergonomic, and sustainable surfaces for pedestrians and joggers alike.
Originally paved in asphalt that was overlaid many times in the past 40 years, the Houstonian jogging trail suffered trip hazards due to tree roots cracking and lifting the surface and was crumbling beyond salvation.
The goals for the new rubber jogging trail were to preserve the surrounding charm of the forest while holding up to unpredictable weather and having the ability to withstand long periods of submergence in flood zone areas. Tolerance to wear and tear was also essential as this high-use path leads running teams, walkers, joggers, wheelchairs, strollers and the like to a much larger trail.
The solution was the latest addition to the Rubberway family of products: Evolution, born from the combination of a porous rubber pavement, a professional running track, and a rubber sidewalk. The flexible, durable, and permeable yet water-repellant characteristics of Rubberway Evolution made it the perfect system to meet the needs of the hotel.
An outdoor workout space was constructed alongside the rubber jogging trail where guests can partake in Cross Fit, agility training, weight lifting, or other anaerobic exercises. A versatile, cushioned PolyTurf Multi-Play synthetic turf system with a 5mm foam pad was installed in order to provide comfort to guests while also permitting the use of heavy duty equipment like sleds, tires, and weights, without damaging the material or sub-base below.
Constructed and completed in August of 2017, the pathway and synthetic turf system were installed by hand with the utmost care and detail. The mile-long jogging trail winds through the hotel property and around the club's tennis courts, pools and Trellis Spa.
