Salt on sidewalks

Salt can help keep our sidewalks safe in the winter. Only use sidewalk salt to break up ice you cannot remove otherwise or as a de-icer in a freeze-thaw cycle.  

You must clean up leftover salt. It can make sidewalks uneven and hard to navigate. Too much salt can even hurt pets' feet and damage concrete. When you clean up excess salt, less of it ends up in buildings, the groundwater, and our local waterways.

Once salt is in our waterways, it does not break down. Only one teaspoon of salt can pollute five gallons of water to a toxic level. Salt is beginning to contaminate our lakes, waterways, and groundwater.

Reducing your salt use

You can help reduce your salt use when clearing your sidewalks:

  1. Shovel to remove snow and ice before applying salt. Do not pre-treat walks with salt or toss salt on top of snow.

  2. Use only what you need. A 12-ounce coffee mug of salt can treat 10 sidewalk squares. You know you're using the right amount of salt if, once the ice melts, there's only dust left. If you have undissolved salt, you're using too much. The right amount of salt looks like this:

    Correct Salt Distribution
  3. Switch to sand when temperatures drop below 15°F. Salt does not work when the temperature is below 15°F. The City provides free sand at various locations around the City
  4. Choose a certified contractor if you hire a private company to clear your snow.

Excess salt complaints

Once the ice melts, property owners must clean leftover salt from the sidewalk. The City may issue fines for excess salt. Even if a hired contractor spreads the salt, these fines belong to the property owner.

You can report concerns of excess salt on public sidewalks. We cannot enforce the excess salt ordinance on driveway aprons or private property. This includes private walks, private parking lots or other private property

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