After the frozen streets of Seattle’s snow storm of 2008, the city promised to use salt for traction in the future. Forget the health of the Sound and keep the traffic moving. Winter is at present so mild people are walking around without coats, but if big weather hits again, Candy Chang in Helsinki has a suggestion: Yes to pebbles, not to salt.
Chang:
After Helsinki’s first big snow, the City sprinkles pebbles on the sidewalks to give pedestrians grip over the ice. How many pounds or kilograms of pebbles they must have, I’m not sure, but they continue to add more after each snowfall until the Spring (who am I kidding, Summer) when they sweep it, store it, and use it again next year. This means no contamination of the groundwater. This also means that many winter walks involve you, your thoughts, and one tiny pebble caught in your shoe.
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