Petition: Salt vs. Sand

Here in Montreal, where we get SO much more snow than TO, we use a pleasantly black - toned gravel. It works much better than salt, cause it doesnt dissolve and disappear - it stays on the surface, providing longer-term grippage.

what is done for snow removal and salting etc should move into the sustainable era already. salt is like spraying DDt everywhere.

I moved to Toronto from Calgary four years ago and was (and still am) shocked that the city not only uses salt but uses so damn much of it.

Gravel and sand may add extra "dirt" that will need to be cleaned up by the city in spring but the extra grit keeps the roads operational. And it doesn't really get that icey here for very long anyway.

Salt is just bad for everything. Plants, trees, animals, cars, shoes, clothes, concrete, wood, etc.

It's funny to see this just now. I've been meaning to write Adam Vaughan to complain all week.

Don't sign it!

I've lived here all my life, moved to Calgary for six years and came back recently.
The sand/gravel situation in Calgary is a *nightmare*

Crud everywhere, roads don't get plowed, they get crap tossed on top and compacted in all winter (layer after layer), the entire town looks like the Sahara from March to July while the stuff gets cleaned up, destroyed windshields, destroyed vehicle paint, etc. etc.
Add that to the fact that it barely works for traction (I got stuck on snowy streets more times in 6 years in Calgary than 3 decades in Toronto), and you've got a no brainer.

Stick with the salt.
It works.
It's worked for decades.
Believe me, getting rid of the salt is not going to make a lick of difference in the environmental mess we're already in anyway. It'll just make winter that much more unbearable.

Can I vote for shovelling?

Get rid of the salt. I don't care about the mess.

I would like to know exactly how much salt we pour onto our streets and sidewalks every year. The figure would probably stun everyone. Sure the city pours salt like the street is a plate of fries, but add to that the average home/small business owner that is worried about liability. The salt ends up in our lake and water table...do we really want to salt our water?

On top of the environmental reasons,the damaged clothing there is the fact that I have to carry my 50 lbd dog when his feet get torn up by excessive salt use. The alternative is to put his boots on. Have you ever tried putting boots on a struggling lab?

Get rid of the F-ing salt or put a dome over the city in the winter...those are our two options.

Salt, ah the toxic substance that we use despite overwhelming evidence that it harms the environment.
Let's think of MANDATORY winter tires for a start. Goofs who slip and slip in Calgary, Toronto Montreal or wherever clearly don't appreciate they could be missing something besides the ability to drive in winter.

Sand isn't going to be used in Calgary for too long now that lciamte change is making it less effective. Ploughing is important, but so is accepting we live in a winter climate and not Tennessee. It snows here, get over it, use snow tires, slow down a bit, plough, shovel and repeat.

Using salt is a time bomb of ecosystem disaster since the stuff doesn't decay but merely flows as dissolved salt in groundwater or surface water.

Use no salt on you property is like not using pesticides; the right intelligent and sustainable approach. Now all we need is the city's drivers to take that to heart. ONly then will the City Hall hear the message that we want thenm to use less.

I've been here for the winter from Calgary and well... the gravel and grit of Calgary's solution is much more effective.

Salt is much worse for the environment than all the gravel.

But before either of those methods are used... I would vote for shoveling. If you remove the snow then when it melts it doesn't turn to ice on the sidewalk.

Road salt usage in this city has reached the level of overkill not only by the Cityworks Department but by private maintenance contractors. My personal favourite is how they distribute salt on dry roads and sidewalks in anticipation of snowfall or freezing rain that may or may not happen.
It seems to me that in many instances homeowners take the easy way out when it comes to their responsibility to keep the sidewalks clear in front of their property by throwing great quantities of salt on the sidewalk rather than getting out their shovels and using a little elbow grease.

The City, to its credit, has greatly reduced salt usage. Its been switching over to a salt brine spray with gets much more effective coverage with lower concentrations of salt.

To be sure, they need to further reduce their use of salt.

Particularly on side streets with no bus routes, gravel or sand would be a good alternative.

However, private contractors are much worse than the City.

When they salted my apartment building parking lot they turned it white, I would get more than .5kg of salt per parking spot.

It was ridiculous. By anyone's definition, gross overkill, literally and figuratively.

I think making it illegal for contractors to mechanically spread rock salt would be a big step forward. But permit them to use the lower contentration brine for now.

Study to see how much better that makes things. Then, if necessary step up to a full ban.

Switching from salt might take awhile given the large investment everyone has made in using it. Trying to legislate it away could prove to be a slow process. However, it is a good start and one worth undertaking now that the Environment is chic.

If one could prove that private/public salt had definitively damaged one's property a successful court case could be won. And then the fear of liability would make all the salt droppers run for something else...

I feared I might be the only one who gave a damn about road salt and I am pleasantly surprised to find out that others share my frustration. The suggestions about winter tires and the mysterious, black-toned gravel used in Montreal are excellent, thank you. I too wonder why anyone would risk their lives with all-season radials in the winter.

The worst salt abuse I've seen so far this winter is definitely by Toronto residents who dump, rather than sprinkle, salt on the sidewalk in front of their homes. I've had to go to great lengths to protect my dog's paws on our daily walks. I'm grateful he only weighs 35 pounds and not 50!

I intend to submit my petition to Mr. Miller before the winter is through so make sure every anti-road salt activist you know signs the petition to get this snow ball rolling.

As a Public works emmployee for many years i have learned alot about this subject. The City officials and the public will trade alot for safe roads, period. That will never change! So i learned to accept that. Ok, in the early years we would mix 3 parts sand to 1 part salt. Guess what would happen? The plow drivers would have to lay down 3 times as much material to make the ice go away. Now your left with a dirty road. That much sand has worse affects envirenmentally than salt. Here is the deal, run straight salt and in the end you will use less of all material. That is the 100% fact...