Reducing Salt Use

Excessive amounts of salt on the roads puts our lakes and rivers in serious danger so we try to avoid it at all costs. The City of Grand Rapids has been very proactive the last few years to protect the environment, especially the Grand River. We have greatly reduced the amount of salt we put on the roads. These are just a few of the things we're doing to support these sustainability goals without compromising the safety of our community.

1. We only apply salt to first-attention streets as well as bridges, hills, severe curves or special circumstances.
2. We have installed side wings on many of our snowplows. These wings extend off the right side of the truck. When stretched out, they plow an additional half lane of snow and further allow us to reduce our impact on the environment.
3. Plow trucks have liquid storage capabilities. This allows for the pre-wetting of salt which means more can stick to road surfaces. Pre-wetting salt reduces the amount used by as much as 30 percent.

We also encourage business and residents to reduce the salt they put down on their properties. Visit this page for more information

Also, please take a look at our Winter Preparedness Guide for more tips on how you can stay safe while protecting the environment this winter.

Pilot Programs

We are always looking at new ways to further decrease our impact on the environment, so we continue to learn and explore new technologies. In fact, we're currently piloting road temperature sensors in 7 locations to help us know when we need to salt. We're also in the process of installing GPS on our trucks that helps us track salt use and make further improvements. It's very exciting!