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Photo of public transportation rail sparks debate online: 'Better than the alternative'

"I definitely wouldn't call this a disappointment."

“I definitely wouldn’t call this a disappointment."

Photo Credit: iStock

A photo of tram railway tracks posted to the Reddit thread, r/NoLawns, has an interesting feature — in between all of the rails is beautiful, green grass. 

The post is seemingly to poke a bit of fun at the somewhat ridiculous idea of growing grass on the tram tracks, as it's posted to a Reddit thread that promotes not having a lawn. 

"Dear r/NoLawns," they address the thread, "I introduce [to] you a tramway, covered in lawn." 

Photo Credit: u/alperton / Reddit

The concept of "no lawn" is to avoid growing grass that isn't native to your yard and will need to be mowed frequently. You can replace it instead with options such as flowers, patios, shrubbery, and mulch. Oftentimes, these possibilities are combined to create a beautiful outdoor space with plenty of seating that requires little to no maintenance. 

Whether your entire lawn is a no lawn, or just portions of it, it's better for the environment than breaking out the lawn mower, sprinklers, and pesticides every week. 

In this case, however, many users mentioned that the grass will actually benefit the environment. "This is one of the situations where a lawn is the best option, actually!" one user wrote. "It's better for the environment … while still being short enough that the tram can, you know, function."

With the alternative being concrete, the grassways absorb less heat and more water, and they likely don't require mowing — the trams take care of that when they go by. Another user mentioned that the grass likely works to quiet the noise of the trams more than concrete would. 

This innovative idea is a great way to add more aesthetically pleasing green areas, especially in big cities where nature tends to be lacking. 

"I definitely wouldn't call this a disappointment," said one user. "Better than the alternative — ugly concrete." 

"I actually like this," added another Redditor. 

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