New Non-Salt Strategies for Snowy Cities

Winter brings snowy conditions to roads in many cities, and many react with snow-melting salt solutions. But the physical and environmental damage of salt is leading some to look for other means of fighting the freeze.

1 minute read

January 14, 2010, 6:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


From soil erosion to car corrosion to drinking water pollution, salting roads has a variety of unintended consequences. Those negatives are leading some cities to look for newer (though often more expensive) solutions.

"Growing awareness of the many hazards that come with road salt has some municipalities making tough decisions. Salt is an affordable and highly effective method to prevent traffic accidents and keep the local economy from coming to a grinding halt in the event of a snowstorm. But its costs also include wildlife loss, soil erosion, road damage and contaminated freshwater supplies. Sand may seem a reasonable alternative to salt, but many communities have stopped using it because it clogs sewers, muddies waterways and is costly to clean up. There are safer, albeit pricier, alternatives that communities are trying out. On certain roads and bridges in West Virginia, calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) is used instead of salt because it is noncorrosive to metals and nondestructive to concrete and other highway materials. Another salt alternative is potassium acetate (KA), which is gentler on the environment and on road and highway materials."

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 in NRDC

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

6 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

July 6 - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine