Use beets to battle ice

Brine sprayed on road before a snowstorm

Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

Now that real winter seems to be here,  at least for a few days, let’s lobby cities and towns to go easier on pouring rock salt on the roads during and after ice and snowstorms. This stuff is highly corrosive and its runoff pollutes local water supplies.  And it hurts the feet of animals and kills plants.  Quite a few places are instead using a mix of  beet extract (!) with brine. That’s been found to be a very effective melter and somewhat biodegradable.

Boston’s Planned West End Street Railway system, 1885; consolidation of these lines was complete by 1887.

The Feds are expected to approve a two-year experiment in free fares on several MBTA lines in Boston. That’s good news. Worcester’s experiment in free fares has been underway since the start of the pandemic and has just been extended another year. But trying it in a big city, with a dense public-transit system, such as Boston, is much more important.

A big question is how much  savings  from the resulting decline (if there is one) in car traffic, and thus less wear and tear, and fewer accidents, on the roads,  can offset the loss of fare revenue? There would also be less air pollution. Give it a try!