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Nashville Testing Street Coating to Combat Urban Heat
Department of Transportation says coating could keep streets 15 to 20 degrees cooler if effective. August 15, 2023
As most of the country spends the summer baking in record-setting heat, facility managers and city governments are trying to find the best ways to combat that.
The Nashville Department of Transportation (NDOT) is testing a street coating on its city streets to see if it can help cool them down, according to TV station WKRN.
The NDOT says a regular street reflects 10 percent of sunlight, but a cool seal is designed to reflect between 40 and 50 percent of sunlight to keep the streets 15 to 20 degrees cooler, according to an NDOT official.
The report said Nashville typically uses fog seal but would use the cool seal for the hottest areas of the city if the test works. If the product works as hoped, officials may consider repaving the hotter streets in the area, in turn cooling off the areas surrounding the streets.
Paving products such as this coating are one way for cities to combat urban heat island effect, which happens when buildings, roads and other structures absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes, according to the EPA.
Dave Lubach is the executive editor of the facilities market.
