In my first 36 years in Flagstaff, cinders were the norm. They were messy and a nuisance to clean up, but they worked. Back then we even criticized the states that used salt. “Never buy a used car from Michigan, its underside will be rotted from salt.”
But things changed six years ago. At that time, the City Council (before my tenure) was told that a sodium solution was superior to cinders and that many western cold-weather cities were changing to salt. Conventional wisdom was that salt worked better for de-icing the roads. It was “cleaner” than cinders, which are dusty and clog storm drains.
So in 2007 the City Council decided to switch from cinders to salt. What the Council didn’t know at the time was that the salt would kill pine trees and ruin concrete.
We see that happening in Flagstaff today. The pine trees along city roadways are dying from a 1,000 percent increase in salt in their needles. Salt is showing up in the Rio de Flag riverbeds and in drainage channels and in the soil along the roads. We also now know that city salt is killing pine trees on private property. You may have seen damage to your concrete driveway.
Other cities are experiencing the same issues and many that had switched to salt are now returning back to cinders or sand.
There are arguments both pro and con on this issue. On the side favoring the use of salt, city staff presented statistics comparing the number of vehicle collision on snow days for the five years before and after the salt switch. However, even though salt is believed to help prevent accidents, the statistics did not present a dramatic case for its use.
Cinders may be ugly but they don’t kill trees and they don’t damage concrete or the underside of vehicles. Does salt work better for de-icing the roads? Yes. Is it worth the cost in the damage to the environment and property? The current City Council said no. Unanimously.
So the city is going to use only cinders this winter. You may not see the roads as dry and ice free as in past years. Remember – we live in a winter-snow-ice town. Drive like there is snow on the road when there is snow on the road. FBN