To: The Mayor and City Council of Waterbury, CT

We, the undersigned residents of Waterbury, Connecticut, are writing to request an immediate change in the city's snow removal practices. Specifically, we demand the cessation of sand usage for snow clearing and a move to the same salting method employed by nearly all other cities in Connecticut, as well as in other winter-weather states and regions like Canada.

We believe that continuing to use sand rather than salt in our snow removal efforts presents significant safety and quality of life concerns. Below, we outline the specific issues we are facing and the need for change:

Safety Issues

1. Unsafe Driving Conditions: Sand creates a paste-like mixture when it interacts with snow and ice. Unlike salt, which actively melts snow and ice, the sand layer cakes on the road, resulting in hazardous conditions that impede traction and make driving treacherous. Safer driving conditions would also result in less accidents and less of a burden and danger to our first responders. 
2. Poor Melting and Road Maintenance: Unlike salt, which assists in melting snow, sand leaves snow piled at the sides of the road without additional support to melt it. This leaves snowbanks around the roadways, including in parking areas, causing difficulties for drivers, pedestrians, and others navigating the city.
3. Prevents Sunlight from Melting Snow: The sand covering the snow effectively acts as a barrier, blocking sunlight from reaching the snow and ice beneath it, further preventing natural melting and leaving hazardous conditions in its wake.
4. Visibility and Accurately Assessing Road Conditions: The sand obscures the surface of the road, making it difficult for drivers to determine whether they are driving on snow, ice, or dry pavement. This visibility problem creates additional danger, especially for those navigating unfamiliar areas.
5. Standing Water and Refreezing: While sand may melt some of the snow, it does so only partially, creating areas of standing water that are trapped by the paste-like mixture. This trapped water refreezes at night, creating icy patches on the road that lead to additional hazards such as potholes and unstable surfaces.

Quality of Life Issues

1. Impeded Transportation: Unsafe road conditions lead to delays in travel, preventing people from getting to work, school, and other essential places on time. The increased risk of accidents and slower travel times cause businesses in the city to experience losses and disrupt people's livelihoods.
2. School Delays and Cancellations: The unsafe conditions contributed to by sand usage often result in more school delays and cancellations, which ultimately impacts our children's education. We need a solution that ensures students can get to school safely without these interruptions.
3. Unsightly Streets and Public Spaces: Roads and sidewalks covered with sand, mud, and slush look unattractive and give the city an unkempt appearance, undermining the pride of our community.
4. Increased Household and Vehicle Mess: The sand gets tracked into homes and cars, creating unnecessary mess and additional cleaning burdens for residents. It is unfair to ask the citizens of Waterbury to endure this added inconvenience when other methods exist.
5. Lingering Sand on Roads and Sidewalks: Sand remains on roads and sidewalks long after the snow melts, creating slippery patches and an eyesore that persists into the warmer months. In addition as the sand gets kicked up in the air by vehicular traffic, it creates unsafe breathing conditions for individuals walking by. This prolonged problem is an avoidable hassle for residents. 
6. Environmental Damage: The overuse of sand on roadways has detrimental effects on our environment, particularly the destruction of grass and vegetation along the roadside. This has long-term consequences for the city's landscaping and the well-being of local ecosystems.

In 2016, Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the Connecticut State Department of Transportation, stated, "We haven’t used sand in over eight years now. Nearly every city and town in Connecticut uses 100 percent salt, and every winter-weather state uses all salt, too. And all of Canada uses only salt.” The fact that Waterbury has not adopted this proven, safe, and efficient method is both puzzling and inexcusable.

Conclusion

As concerned citizens of Waterbury, we believe that the safety and well-being of our community must come first. Therefore, we urge the city to immediately adopt a policy of using 100 percent salt for snow removal, just as other cities in Connecticut, winter-weather states, and all of Canada do. This change is essential to making our streets safer, improving the quality of life in our city, and ensuring that Waterbury remains a modern, forward-thinking community.

We respectfully ask that the Waterbury City Council and Mayor take swift action to make this important change.

We, the undersigned, call for the immediate discontinuation of sand use and the adoption of salt-only snow clearing methods.