Borough Sustainability Initiatives

Bradford Woods is a community founded on the concept of an urban community blended with a natural landscape. To preserve the idyllic lifestyle, the Borough actively works toward green initiatives and encourages residents and local businesses to do the same. There are four primary ways the Borough of Bradford Woods strives for environmental excellency. The four ways are:

Electricity

            The Borough reduces power consumption by replacing older, antiquated technology with newer and more efficient products. One notable example is the completed streetlight LED program that targeted older streetlights and replaced them with LED bulbs to improve energy efficiency, lower cost, and protect the environment. This has resulted in more than 25% reduced electricity use for the Borough. A before/after comparison of electricity use can be found here.

Water

            Water protection programs in the Borough (MS4 and others) are formulated to reduce negative effects on our waterways through pollution runoff, sediment control, and illicit discharges. The Borough is committed to conserving water resources and being efficient in water use. Residents are also encouraged and educated to conserve and protect water. We all live downstream!

For sediment control, Bradford Woods works diligently to prevent soil erosion throughout the Borough. Maintenance practices throughout the Borough help to reduce and prevent erosion. See our Stormwater pages for more information.

Air

            The Borough fosters clean air initiatives to make sure air quality remains high to maintain the overall health of Borough residents. One way to help reduce carbon air pollutants is to ride-share. Ride-sharing allows residents to come together and carpool to work to save both money and the negative impacts CO2 has on the environment. To find people near you who ride-share, visit Commute Info and click the “Register your carpool today!” button on the right side of the page.

             The Borough, along with the Conservancy, worked with Carnegie Melon University to have RAMP air-pollutant sensors installed at the Fire Hall. Click here for more information about the program. The sensors were here for a limited time, and they documented the air quality (2018-2019) in the Borough. Please click the links below to see the reports:

October RAMP report
November RAMP report
December RAMP report
January RAMP Report
February RAMP Report
March RAMP Report

            The Borough also complies with Pennsylvania’s state no-idling law for cars and enforces it throughout the Borough; Police are also trained in cycling laws and regulations to enforce proper biking. Allegheny County burn regulations are also enforced. Hauling services, like Waste Management, also have green initiative goals. Bradford Woods supports education on reducing air pollution and carbon emissions. Information on the causes, effects, and ways to stop air pollution can be found here.

4: Recycling

          The Borough of Bradford Woods is committed to reducing as much pollution and waste as possible. Municipal buildings all have recycling programs to reduce unnecessary amounts of trash being sent to landfills. The Borough also assists with volunteer clean-up days to reduce the amount of trash buildup in our beautiful outdoor spaces.