Despite the ongoing drought, many parts around town will be looking a bit more green these days.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The city is installing artificial turf on several medians around town.
The project will be in a test phase for a year. During that time, city officials will determine ongoing maintenance costs and will be looking for public opinion.
The hope is to improve the beauty of certain areas that now have cracked cement and are showing its age, as well as other areas with new construction, just off of the Westside Parkway.
Crews already installed the synthetic turf in the median just off of Calloway and on Tuesday are installing the turf on Truxtun Avenue between Commercial Way and Mohawk Street.
Next, they will be installing the turf at Brundage Lane and Union Avenue, Buena Vista Road north of Harris and on California at H St.
Many of the areas receiving the turf do not have a water source and city officials want to improve the look of those areas while doing the test run.
"The artificial turf is a little more expensive to install, and we don't know how often we will have to replace it, and will have to look at the overall cost as well," said Diane Hoover, Recreation and Parks.
The city began using artificial turf at City Hall North just under two years ago. However, the reason for that was because of a drainage issue.
If the test phase goes well, synthetic turf may be widely used all around town, with the additional benefits of potentially saving water.