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* Update: After Council's Environment and Climate Change Committee approved Councillor King's motion unanimously (watch the proceedings and read or watch our delegation!), Council also passed it unanimously on March 26.
In January, we invited Ottawans to share their observations of salt application in OC Transpo facilities. The response left no doubt: Ottawa’s transit agency is clearly oversalting—in some cases egregiously.
Our campaign got people talking. CTV published a story on OC Transpo’s oversalting. The Ottawa Citizen shared about how Ottawa uses more road salt than any other Canadian city—not the type of leadership we want.
Then, at February’s meeting of City Council Environment and Climate Change Committee, Councillor Rawlson King proposed an Inquiry asking “that staff review the City of Ottawa’s salt use, with specific attention to its effect on local waterways.”
Egregious oversalting on Stewart St in Sandy Hill in January, submitted by a community member.
Councillor King also included an entire section on OC Transpo’s salting practices, acknowledging that “ward offices often receive reports of over-salting by OC Transpo,” and seeking information on how this is addressed. (Recall that community members reported to us vague replies from OC Transpo.) This was exemplary work. (We also appreciated the shout-out!)
King’s Inquiry was so comprehensive, in fact, that City staff requested it be brought back at the next meeting as a motion. The motion will also come to Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (formerly Transportation Committee), since it mentions the Public Works department.
The motion coming before ECCC on March 18 is unfortunately much slimmer than the Inquiry, but there’s still several good things in it. Fundamentally, it asks for “a focused review of Ottawa’s road salt use, with a specific emphasis on its environmental impact, particularly its effects on local waterways.” It also identifies six areas for specific reporting:
- The extent to which the City’s salting “aligns with environmental and climate change considerations”
- Any assessments of the environmental impact of its salt use, and any mitigation strategies applied
- Methods to monitor the impact of road salt on Ottawa’s waterways
- Measures taken to mitigate salt runoff into waterways
- The feasibility of incorporating road salt management into the Ottawa River Action Plan
- Online publication of the City’s Salt Management Plan
There are several things to admire in this motion: the appeal to the City’s commitments to protecting its ecosystem, acknowledgement of the damage salt causes, and calls for monitoring and transparency. Above all, this motion seeks information, which always helps decision-making.
Oversalting on the Main St cycle track in February, submitted by a community member.
- The motion doesn’t mention OC Transpo. The community clearly showed earlier this year that OC Transpo’s salting is excessive and must be attenuated. We understand that this motion is a first step, and addressing OC Transpo’s salt use will take another step.
- Public education is a must. City facilities are only one location where salting occurs. Residential and commercial property owners often apply salt excessively, whether out of ignorance of best practices or salt’s toxicity. The City of Ottawa must undertake an educational campaign. Fortunately, many good resources exist, and education is extremely inexpensive.
- Oversalting is an accessibility issue. One community member observed how mounds of salt are impassable in a wheelchair. Another community member showed how oversalting was covering accessibility measures for people with visual impairments.
- A cost assessment of salt damage is necessary. Salt remains in ecosystems for decades. It also prevents vegetation from growing, including crops. And it degrades not only infrastructure but vehicles, and even clothing. Salting entails real costs, and these must play a role in decision-making.
- Equipment checks are currently inadequate. While the City checks salting equipment at least twice annually, clearly this is inadequate, as salt spills happen frequently. Improved equipment controls are necessary.
We’ll be monitoring this issue and continue working with councillors.
Are you looking to take action? Here are a few ways:
- Contact your councillor to express your concerns and ask them to support Councillor King’s motion
- Sign our petition calling for changes in OC Transpo’s salting practices, and share it in your circle
- Make a delegation at the Mar 18 ECCC meeting: request a spot before 8:30 am that day by contacting Melinda Aston ([email protected], 613-580-2424, ext. 21838)
- Email us photos of oversalting, whether in OC Transpo facilities or elsewhere, sharing location and date
