Is it time to ditch the road salt?
Is it time to ditch the road salt?
A growing body of research suggests that road salt contributes to metal corrosion and can have a negative impact on ecosystems. Despite the introduction of some successful alternatives, many Canadian cities are still using salt because it's cheaper.
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Like someone else said in the other thread, brine is still salt. Also, sand fucking sucks and barely works at all. So what's the real alternative?
Trains
Snow under the wheels? No problem! Simply crush it under a 100 tonne train.
Volcanic ash and beet juice. It's such common sense that regular salt is fucking everything up. You telling me that you gona blast salt on a 6 lane highway for 300 km and expect it not fuck up the local water way from the drain run off?
Does volcanic ash not have detrimentally environmental effects? Isn't it super basic in Ph?
Sweden uses gravel. This also causes many windscreen chips, but yeah.
Its interesting that any discussions about road salt always start with cars being the leading argument. Car dependency is so intertwined in our current society.
Also, worth noting salt causes corrosion to cars, infrastructure, and not to mention in large quantities causes negative environmental effects, but gravel has a chance of chipping my windshield?!
The different between salt and gravel damage to a car is just time span. Us humans are just really bad at perceiving long term effects. So naturally gravel being what cases damage sooner to a car is assumed to be far worse.
Now if you think of snow removal on sidewalks and walkways. Gravel and sand, or just compacting the snow like they do in Sweden is just as effective.
Here is some videos of snow removal at the pedestrian level, notice no salt is used on pedestrian infrastructure such as walkways or trails.
Tell that to my local transit authority. With the amount of salt they use at bus stations you would think the concrete itself needed a daily dose of salt to survive.
Also we could all just drive a bit slower when it’s fucking snowing.
They used to just sand the roads in my town and everyone was fine, we just slowed down and drove like it was a little slippery.
Everyone wants to go 80mph everywhere all the fucking time.
North american roads are also usually designed in a way that encourages speeding, usually by having wide lanes, straight roads and no trees or other obstacles close to the roadway.
Sand/grit are helpful in areas that get too cold for salt to work.
Just plough? Require snow tires? I've always had snow tires and it's never been a problem living in an area that just sands the roads occasionally but mostly does nothing.