Edmonton council to decide whether to continue controversial road de-icing program

Changes to how Edmonton removes snow and ice from city roads, which includes expansion of apilot project to test the use of salt and calcium chloride on city roads,will go before council Tuesday.

City administration wants to expand the use ofcalcium chloride on295 kilometres of city roads. They also want to do more testing to determine the effects on vehicles, vegetation, concrete and asphalt.

Calcium chloride is sprayed on roads prior to storms to make it easier for plows to clear snow away. Although a corrosioninhibitor is added to the solution, people in the automotive and building industries are concerned about the corrosive effects on vehicles, roadsand landscaping.

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Councillors at last week's community services committee expressed reservations about continuing the pilot at all.

Coun. Mike Nickel told the committee that the use of calcium chloride has prompted more complaints to his office than any other city program.

"People from industry, residents, everybody that you can imagine, saying 'Stop. Stop this program. Stop it now,'" he said.

Coun. Tim Cartmell said there were problems applying the product last year, which makes himquestion whether the city can properly evaluate its merits.

"Do we try it again and try to do it as well as we can and see what it can actually do for us?" he asked. "Or do we cut the cord and take the solution out of the equation?"

A request for$4.1 million in funding will go to council for consideration during this fall's budget's deliberations. The money would pay for additional equipment likebrine spray applicators and 60,000-litre double-walled tanks.

Expansion of the pilot project is one way Edmonton wants to change how it removes snow from city roads.

City administration also wants to hire an outside company to take over snow removal on Whitemud Drive, Yellowhead Trail, Manning Freeway, Calgary Trail and Gateway Boulevard, allowing city staff and equipment to focus on arterial and collector roads with lower traffic volumes. Alberta Transportation is responsible for snow removal on AnthonyHendayDrive.

The city is also changinghow it schedules staff, and for how long, hoping to ensure the best snow removal results.

Administration is proposing changes to its snow and ice removal policies. They include clearing priority sidewalks, trails and bike routes to bare pavement within 24 hours after snow stops falling.

The current policy stipulatestrails and sidewalks next to city land should be cleared within 48 hours after at least two centimetres of snow has accumulated on the ground.