Paradise Unpaved: Franke James' Driveway One Year Later
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 07.22.08
A year ago we recounted how artist Franke James gave up her SUV and then decided to rip up her driveway, except the law said that every house had to have a driveway paved with concrete, asphalt or brick. Even porous pavers like turfstone were illegal.
Franke took her case (and a printout of TreeHugger) to City Hall and won; now she tells her story in her wonderful mix of humour, drawing and photography.
One of her last panels shows a summary of benefits of tearing up the drive and says it all, but read the whole thing at ::Franke James
See more Franke James on TreeHugger:
Franke James on Global Warming in Canada
Selling the SUV: Do the Hardest Things First
Don't Rip Up Your Driveway in North York
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Quite a transformation and certainly makes her house stand out from the rest. The end result is good for the environment and should inspire us all.
Lloyd,
Thanks to you and Treehugger for highlighting the absurdity and anti-environmentalism of the North York driveway bylaws. You helped us unpave our Paradise and we are thrilled! I've recently spoken with City officials and they are much more receptive to green driveways.
Franke
Nice work!
Now all you have to do is dig up the ridiculous 3000 square foot house beside the driveway and you might be on to something.
@ Really?
that house actually looks quite smll, I'd guess under 1500 or even smaller, it looks smaller than my 1300 sq ft house.