The City has introduced a program to monitor and change how it uses road salt to have less impact on the environment and on the City’s roads. With the program, City crews will plow and salt only the primary streets, hills, intersections and curves, and only plow the snow on secondary streets and cul-de-sacs. The City will salt other roads when ice is present for safety.
In the past, the City has been aggressive with salt on the roadways, which has impacted our streets and the environment. Less salt results in less chemicals being introduced into the runoff that feeds into lakes and streams. It also results in less freezing and thawing of the roads, minimizing road damage. The program will help the City prepare for anticipated EPA mandates on salting practices in the future.
In 2015, Hudson instituted these same practices due to a salt shortage, as it tried to make due with less salt. The City fared well with less salt, so staff recommended a pilot program in 2016 to determine if the new procedures should be implemented as an ongoing salt policy.
The City’s goal is always to provide for safe travel for motorists throughout Hudson. This will not change due to the program.
