How about something like this, it should give enough traction, whilst still giving some protection to the grass.
Mesh Protected Turf
This system is becoming quite popular with those responsible for overspill car-parking and pedestrian usage at occasional events, with groundsmen looking after areas of lawn, and with caravan/leisure parks, where the natural appearance of grass with the load-carrying ability of a pavement, all at a minimal cost and with little or no construction work required, is very appealling.
Turf Protection Mesh
by
Tenax Ltd. The basic premise is that a tough polypropylene or HDPE mesh is laid over an area of turf or grass, and this allows foot-traffic, low-speed cars and vans to use the area without completely ruining the grass. The mesh may need to be anchored to the ground at regular intervals by means of ground pegs, to prevent slippage and to help disperse the loads. The mesh works to protect the grass roots from being damage, to minimise '
pumping' of wet ground, and to avoid rutting of soft spots. The soil type, the type of grass/turf cover and the level of protection required will determine the best mesh to choose for each application, and the better manufacturers have dedicated technical teams to help in identifying the best solution.
For lawned areas, the mesh is simply rolled out over the close-cropped turf, with adjacent rolls overlapping by 150-300mm, and anchored with ground pegs. Any dips, hollows, soft-spots etc, should be levelled out with grit sand or top soil before placing the mesh. Once laid, they can be left in-situ for the season, or even permanently, as most commercial mowers will ride over the embedded mesh without hindrance. For areas with longer grass, the meshes are placed after a mowing, and the grass is allowed to grow up and through the mesh, hiding it from view, yet providing sufficeint stability to permit trafficking.
