Seattle city officials have decided not to use salt on their snow-packed streets because they're concerned about the possibilities that the salt runoff will pollute Puget Sound.
But it turns out "plowed streets" in Seattle actually means "snow-packed," as in there's snow and ice left on major arterials by design.
"We're trying to create a hard-packed surface," said Alex Wiggins, chief of staff for the Seattle Department of Transportation. "It doesn't look like anything you'd find in Chicago or New York."
The city's approach means crews clear the roads enough for all-wheel and four-wheel-drive vehicles, or those with front-wheel drive cars as long as they are using chains, Wiggins said.
The icy streets are the result of Seattle's refusal to use salt, an effective ice-buster used by the state Department of Transportation and cities accustomed to dealing with heavy winter snows.
"If we were using salt, you'd see patches of bare road because salt is very effective," Wiggins said. "We decided not to utilize salt because it's not a healthy addition to Puget Sound."
By ruling out salt and some of the chemicals routinely used by snowbound cities, Seattle has embraced a less-effective strategy for clearing roads, namely sand sprinkled on top of snowpack along major arterials, and a chemical de-icer that is effective when temperatures are below 32 degrees.
Seattle also equips its plows with rubber blades. That minimizes the damage to roads and manhole covers, but it doesn't scrape off the ice, Wiggins said.
That leaves many drivers, including Seattle police, pretty much on their own until nature does to the snow what the sand can't: melt it.
It's not even clear that using salt is so much worse than sand, especially given the relatively
few inches of snow that Seattle gets in an average year.
"The occasional application of salt is probably not going to have a lasting effect" on the environment, Spector said. But she cautioned it's highly dependent on where it's used, how often and how much is applied.
Seattle's stand against using salt is not shared by the state Department of Transportation, which has battled the latest storms in Western Washington with de-icer, 5,800 tons of salt and 11,500 cubic yards of salt and sand mix, said spokesman Travis Phelps.
Many cities are moving away from sand because it clogs the sewers, runs into waterways, creates air pollution and costs more to clean up.
I just wonder how much all those unfortunate Seattle residents who don't have four-wheel-drive will appreciate the city's decision when they can't drive to work or if they are slipping on the ice and snow that the city is hard-packing. And what's worse - giving citizens an incentive to buy those naughty 4WD SUV's so they can be sure to drive in the winter or putting down salt
4 comments:
"We decided not to utilize salt because it's not a healthy addition to Puget Sound."
Uhm, Puget Sound is part of the ocean. Oceans are generally acknowleded to be large bodies of salt water.
What am I missing?
Coming next, keen environmental minds will outlaw using salt on food because putting salt in the sewage system will damage the salt water in the Puget Sound.
Dolts!
Quinn, do you like to put salt on your potatoes?
How about you salt your potatoes until they taste good to you. Then I will add a bunch more salt on top of that. Will you still be able to eat them? I am betting not.
Large parts of marsh habitats bordering Puget sound are already marginal for native animals. The Seattle residents are simply trying not to make things worse.
Back in May this year, all salmon fishing was banned on the west coast. Did you know that? This drastic step was taken because salmon have declined so much it was possible that another salmon fishing season would wipe them out altogether.
I don't think you show much understanding of how bad things are, and how interconnected things are. Science facts simply explained for dolts.
Are you implying that salt in the marsh habitats are causing the precipitous drop in the salmon run this year? Plus the ban does not effect Canada or Alaska and it certainly does not include all salmon but king salmon only. In some parts of the Puget Sound fishermen are still fishing for hatchery king salmon and native coho on a daily basis.
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