Friday Feature: Garden Highway

Yesterday, almost exactly two weeks after the first day of spring, the temperatures dropped, reminding us that spring in Pennsylvania occurs at Mother Nature's whim. I'm not complaining; people in other parts of the country are dealing with much worse, and the weather forecasters have assured us that this is just a blip on the radar screen.

Still, it's enough of a blip to endanger the fledgling spring plants that have popped up over the past few weeks, and enough to make stories that feature spring, like this one in Fast Company about a notable Parisian project, especially desirable. 

In a move to improve not just the beauty of the city, but the health of its residents and visitors as well, Parisian officials have created a plan to turn a main thoroughfare into a green space. Over the next decade, Paris will be transforming the eight-lane Champs Élysées into "an extraordinary garden," a plan officials hope will not only clean up the air, but also draw its citizens back to the famous avenue. According to The Guardian, "the plans include reducing space for vehicles by half, turning roads into pedestrian and green areas, and creating tunnels of trees to improve air quality."

Sounds lovely. Just the sort of thing to convince me that a trip to Paris really does need to be on my bucket list.

Especially on a windy, not-so-spring-like day in Central Pennsylvania.