3- Other examples of road salts management
The following extracts are reprinted, with the permission of the Federation
of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), from its 2002 and 2003 Municipal Governments
and Sustainable Communities: A BEST PRACTICES GUIDE FCM-CH2M HILL
Sustainable Community Awards. The Awards are also supported by FCM's
Green Municipal Funds, Environment Canada through funding for Partners
for Climate Protection, and Transport Canada.
CITY OF TORONTO, ONTARIO
Population: 2,481,494
Salt Management Plan
Icy roads can have a dramatic impact on public safety, so managing winter
conditions on the City of Toronto's 5,100-kilometre road network
required a broad management strategy. The city's Salt management
plan is based on best practices and sets out a framework to continuously
improve road salt management. The plan includes a Good Housekeeping Code
of Practice that improves salt management practices at storage facilities
and, by 2003, all new maintenance facilities must be designed following
the principles set out by the Transportation Association of Canada. Because
the plan is activity-based, it allows the city to phase in new approaches
and technologies to ensure that public safety is not compromised.
Contact: Gary Welsh, Director, Transportation Services, District 4,
(416) 396-7842
TOWN OF CALEDON, ONTARIO
Population: 50,595
Reduction in Road Chlorides
The Town of Caledon has reduced the amount of chlorides it uses to manage
dust and ice on the town's roads by implementing four specific practices.
About 600 kilometres of the town's roads are gravel, so one such
practice was to convert many of these rural roads to hard surface. The
town expects that overall chloride use on these converted roads will be
cut in half. Caledon also implemented a spring stabilization practice
to deep grade gravel roads. This produces more uniform road characteristics
and maximizes road strength, allowing the town to apply liquid calcium
chloride more easily and efficiently. By the end of 2002, the town had
reduced its overall chloride use by 67 per cent, with annual operating
savings in the order of $1 million.
Contact: Hans Muntz, Director of Infrastructure, (905) 584-2272
CITY OF BRAMPTON, ONTARIO
Population: 351,646
Responsible Use of Salt in Snow and Ice Control
The escalating use of salt on the City of Brampton's roads was
increasing costs and environmental degradation. The city purchased new
spreaders that pre-wet the salt before it is applied to roads, reducing
salt usage by 30 per cent. When snowfall or icy conditions are expected,
primary roadways are pre-salted to prevent snow and ice from sticking
to the road surface. Salt is placed along the centre of the roadway and
allowed to spread to the curb by means of normal traffic flow, forming
a brine that melts the ice. New salt storage shelters were also built
to prevent runoff from improper storage, and the city plans to phase out
conventional snow removal equipment and replace it with leading-edge salt
spreaders.
Contact: Deborah Tracogna, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications,
(905) 874-2143
4 - Glossary
Anti-icing: The application of a de-icer to a roadway,
often before a frost or snowfall, in order to prevent melted snow and
ice from forming a bond with the road surface.
Best Management Practices (BMP): Set of recommended
procedures to achieve the proposed objective or objectives.
De-icing: To prevent a bond from occurring between the
snow and the road surface or to destroy a bond that has already formed.
Electronic spreader controls: These controls minimize
salt wastage by ensuring that the appropriate spreader rate is achieved.
Modern ground speed spreader controls regulate the amount of salt dispersed
based on the vehicle's speed, while maintaining a consistent and
accurate application of materials.
Pre-wetting: The addition of a liquid to solid de-icers
or abrasives before application, in order to quicken melting and to improve
material adherence to the road surface.
Road Weather Information System (RWIS): A network of
roadway sensors connected together to provide real-time, accurate and
site specific pavement surface conditions and weather data. RWIS allow
maintenance crews to make informed decisions on road maintenance actions
based on current weather conditions.
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