ontario liberals told to curb use of road salt

It saves lives on slick winter roads, but kills plants, trees and aquatic animals. Road salt (sodium chloride) is a primary ice-fighting tool for most Canadian municipalities - despite a growing realization the chemical compound has nasty eco-consequences.

Last week, Environmental commissioner Gord Miller told the governing Liberals to curb the use of road salt by forcing municipalities to take advantage of modern technology.

He noted that widespread use of road salt used to be justified because people argued saving lives was more important than saving the environment. Now, modern technology means the municipalities don’t need to make that choice, Miller said, noting that the Ministry of Transportation uses on-board computers to monitor road temperatures and distribute salt more efficiently on 20 per cent of Ontario roads.

Miller also complained that development is trumping environmental concerns in the Golden Horseshoe region, where the population is exploding and “car-centric” culture continues to thrive.

Dan McDermott, with the Sierra Club of Canada, said the Liberals should follow Miller’s recommendation to halt the construction of new highways in southern Ontario. Adding and expanding highways will just mean more urban sprawl and more asphalt to salt, he said. “Fewer roads would mean less road salt,” McDermott said. “More transit would mean less road salt.”

You can’t argue with that. Read the story at the Toronto Star>>