Changes

Read [https://sustainabletechnologies.ca/app/uploads/2020/03/Sand-vs-Salt-tech-brief.pdf LSRCA's Technical Bulletin: Sand versus Salt]<ref>LSRCA. 2018. Sand versus Salt: Should sand be used for winter maintenance? Technical Bulletin, Volume 1 October 2018. https://sustainabletechnologies.ca/app/uploads/2020/03/Sand-vs-Salt-tech-brief.pdf</ref> document to learn more about exploring the efficacy of the use of sand for winter maintenance, its associated environmental issues, and where its use is most appropriate.

Read [https://sustainabletechnologies.ca/app/uploads/2020/03/Sand-vs-Salt-tech-brief.pdf LSRCA's Technical Bulletin: Sand versus Salt]<ref>LSRCA. 2018. Sand versus Salt: Should sand be used for winter maintenance? Technical Bulletin, Volume 1 October 2018. https://sustainabletechnologies.ca/app/uploads/2020/03/Sand-vs-Salt-tech-brief.pdf</ref> document to learn more about exploring the efficacy of the use of sand for winter maintenance, its associated environmental issues, and where its use is most appropriate.

==Design Strategies for Salt Reduction==

==Site Design Strategies for Salt Reduction==

 

In 2017, LSRCA and its partner agencies developed the [https://www.lsrca.on.ca/Shared%20Documents/Parking-Lot-Design-Guidelines/Parking-Lot-Guidelines-Salt-Reduction.pdf Parking Lot Design Guidelines]<ref>Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. 2017. Parking Lot Design Guidelines to Promote Salt Reduction. GHD|11115623|Report No. 2| February 22 2017. https://www.lsrca.on.ca/Shared%20Documents/Parking-Lot-Design-Guidelines/Parking-Lot-Guidelines-Salt-Reduction.pdf</ref> that can be used by designers, regulatory agencies, property owners, contractors, and others to implement design elements within parking lots and related infrastructure that help limit the need for salt. The [https://www.lsrca.on.ca/parking-lot-guidelines web page for the initiative] includes the full guideline report, a fact sheet and a municipal policy template to facilitate incorporation of guidelines into municipal policy. The report identified four key design strategies.  

In their 2001 assessment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, it was found that high releases of road salts from winter maintenance activities were having an adverse effect on freshwater ecosystems, soil, vegetation, and wildlife (Environment Canada, 2001)<ref>Environment Canada. 2001. PRIORITY SUBSTANCES LIST ASSESSMENT REPORT. Road Salts. Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. Environment Canada and Health Canada. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/migration/hc-sc/ewh-semt/alt_formats/hecs-sesc/pdf/pubs/contaminants/psl2-lsp2/road_salt_sels_voirie/road_salt_sels_voirie-eng.pdf</ref>. Based on this conclusion, Environment Canada developed its “[https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/ec/En49-31-1-5-eng.pdf Code of Practice the Environmental Management of Road Salts],” which focuses mainly on municipal and provincial road maintenance. This code, which requires the development of Salt Management Plans for those organizations using more than 500 tonnes of road salt annually, was released by Environment Canada in 2004 (Environment Canada, 2004)<ref>Environment Canada. 2004. Code of practice for the Environmental Management of Road Salts. Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). April 2004. EPS 1/CC/5. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/ec/En49-31-1-5-eng.pdf</ref>. While the uptake of this code of practice has been successful for municipalities, there is not a similar recognized guideline for parking lot contractors. That said, there are studies and training programs that address this issue, which aims to educate private contractors about best practices, and how these can improve their level of service, protect the environment, and reduce associated costs. However, uptake of these programs has been low. To address this gap, LSRCA and its partner agencies identified a need for a guideline document that could be used by designers, regulatory agencies, owners, contractors, and others to consider design elements in the design and layout of parking lots and related infrastructure that can help to reduce the requirement for salt application. This effort culminated in the development of [https://www.lsrca.on.ca/parking-lot-guidelines LSRCA's Parking Lot Design Guidelines​]<ref>LSRCA. n.d. Parking Lot Design Guidelines. Webpage. Accessed 25, Mar. 25. 2022. https://www.lsrca.on.ca/parking-lot-guidelines</ref>

 

*LSRCA has created a landing page with their partners, which include three key documents:

**[https://www.lsrca.on.ca/Shared%20Documents/Parking-Lot-Design-Guidelines/Parking%20Lot%20Design%20Guidelines.pdf Fact Sheet - Parking Lot Guidelines]: Highlights the impacts of elevated chloride levels in freshwater systems in the Lake Simcoe watershed and detailed, bullet-point descriptions of how to design parking lots to limit over application of rock salt.

**[https://www.lsrca.on.ca/Shared%20Documents/Parking-Lot-Design-Guidelines/Parking-Lot-Guidelines-Salt-Reduction.pdf Parking Lot design Guidelines - Full Report]: Written in partnership with GHD the Parking Lot Design Guidelines to Promote Salt reduction is the primary document LSRCA uses to provide background on the issue of over salting roads and parking lots, primary design features for owners and contractors to consider, case study and site examples where the guidelines have been followed and Drawings of these sites that can be found on the main Parking Lot Guideline landing page.

**[https://www.lsrca.on.ca/Shared%20Documents/Parking-Lot-Design-Guidelines/Policy%20Templates.pdf Municipal Policy Template]: This template document aids municipalities in the drafting of their own parking lot design and salt reduction policy document based on the findings and design guidance from LSRCA's Parking Lot design Guidelines - Full Report, 2017.

 

The LSRCA's commissioned study with GHD describes preferred salt management design strategies for parking lots, which can be read here: [[LSRCA salt guide]]. The report identified four key design strategies. They can be seen summarized below:

===Effective Grading===

===Effective Grading===

*Proper grading can minimize the freezing of wet pavement surfaces and prevent melt water from ponding and re-freezing, reducing the need for re-application of salt.

*Proper grading can minimize the freezing of wet pavement surfaces and prevent melt water from ponding and re-freezing, reducing the need for re-application of salt.

*Areas for vehicular and pedestrian traffic should be [[grading|graded]] between 2 - 4 % to reduce the chances of depressions forming over time ([https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/110191 maximum permitted 5% for AODA]). Small depressions can result in ponded water icing over in the winter.  

*Areas for vehicular and pedestrian traffic should have well compacted subgrades with surface [[grading|grades]] between 2 - 4 % to reduce the chances of depressions forming. Even shallow depressions will pond water and ice over in the winter, requiring frequent salting to avoid ice build-up.

*Subbase should be well compacted for the same reason.  

*Subbase should be well compacted for the same reason.  

*In [[winter]] months efficient salt application should be made along the top of slopes; melting snow will carry the salt solution down-gradient.

*In [[winter]] months salt should be applied efficiently along the top of slopes to allow melting snow to carry the salt solution down-gradient.

*Effective [[grading]] can also direct melt water towards strategically placed stormwater collection infrastructure (i.e. [[Overflow|catch basins]], [[Swales|vegetated swales]], [[bioretention]] features, [[Rain garden|landscaped areas]]), preventing salt application in heavy traffic areas that are also pathways for runoff.

*Effective [[grading]] can also direct melt water towards strategically placed stormwater collection infrastructure (i.e. [[Overflow|catch basins]], [[Swales|vegetated swales]], [[bioretention]] features, [[Rain garden|landscaped areas]]), preventing salt application in heavy traffic areas that are also pathways for runoff.

*The key to effective stormwater collection during winter is to ensure that melt water from high traffic areas or snow piles does not have to travel great distances to a collection point.<ref>LSRCA. 2015.Parking Lot Design Guidelines to Promote Salt Reduction. GHD. 11115623 (2). https://www.lsrca.on.ca/Shared%20Documents/Parking-Lot-Design-Guidelines/Parking-Lot-Guidelines-Salt-Reduction.pdf</ref>.

*The key to effective stormwater collection during winter is to ensure that melt water from high traffic areas or snow piles does not have to travel great distances to a collection point.<ref>LSRCA. 2015.Parking Lot Design Guidelines to Promote Salt Reduction. GHD. 11115623 (2). https://www.lsrca.on.ca/Shared%20Documents/Parking-Lot-Design-Guidelines/Parking-Lot-Guidelines-Salt-Reduction.pdf</ref>.