Road Salt Alternatives

We looked at the source of the salinity issue, road salting. Salting has proved to be hazardous to the environment in heavy quantity, especially when swept into nearby water environments. There are many alternative practices to road salting gaining traction, such as using beet juice, pickle juice, or cheese brine as deicers. While studies show these particular practices aren't fully effective without being paired with a minimal amount of road salt, they do help lessen the environmental impact while also reducing the cost of ice maintenance. In some areas, certain chemical compounds such as potassium chloride, calcium chloride, or potassium acetate have grown in popularity, however these options can be considerably more expensive so they are not quite as feasible despite the potential environmental impact being lessened. Grainy materials such as sand, stone grit, or kitty litter are also viable alternatives being explored mainly due to their ability to greatly increase the traction on icy roads and pathways. A potential drawback to this solution is a slight rise in cost as well as it being potentially messy and tough to clean up, however that is a problem seen with traditional rock salt, as well. Another alternative would be heating roads. Dowling Street, one of the main roads, was paved with grooves that hold the salt longer, leading to less salt being needed in order to ensure safety as well as reducing the potential runoff of road salt. This technology could be added to several of their other steep roads within the area.