The green roof should be an urban oasis – a beautiful garden on the roof. It sounds like a wonderful idea. Green roofs clean the air, provide insulation to lower our heating and air conditioning bills and could provide a peaceful and private place for Torontonians to picnic, read a book or just relax.
The reality is not so idyllic.
Most businesses with green roofs are so concerned about the weight of all that grass and/or trees that they don’t allow people access to the roof. Liability is also a concern, and certainly a store like Mountain Equipment Co-op doesn’t want its customers and employees in the store covered in a shower of roof tiles and grass if the roof collapses.
The cost is prohibitive for the average homeowner. To put a green roof on my Victorian row house would require a structural inspection, architectural planning and a team of gardeners. It would cost at least $20,000 and the raccoons are probably the only ones who could enjoy it. Also, I wouldn’t want to come home and find trays of grass in my bed if the roof collapsed.
They require maintenance, which can be expensive if you have to hire someone to climb a very tall ladder to the roof to fertilize and water the plants.
The bureaucracy of negotiating with city hall to get a grant to cover part of cost is time-consuming. Not to mention that parking downtown is a nightmare.
The typical green roof has boxes of grass. There are different grasses, but mostly it’s still just grass. Not exactly an exotic paradise.
So for now, I’ll just have to plant a few window boxes and admire my pansies. If I want nature I’ll go to High Park.
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