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economist suntribune in our community saturday june 22 2002 hold the salt region weaning itself off by jeff mitchell staff writer it may be the last thing on your mind now but york region is preparing to battle winters ice and snow the regions works depart ment recently approved a 450000 pilot project that will battle snow and black ice and reduce the amount of salt spread on roads the move was applauded by one environmentalist i think its a fabulous initia tive said brent kopperson a sutton resident who is associat ed with a number of environ mental initiatives including green communities and the ontario sustainable energy association road salt has been identified as a toxin mr kopperson said adding groundwater supplies and watercourses are endan gered by copious amounts of salt that wash off road surfaces the regions transportation and works department has been studying ways to reduce road salt for some time costs of the pilot project will be offset by savings in the amount of salt used brian harrison director of roads trans portation told the committee there was also a budget surplus from this past winter when moderate conditions required less maintenance this coming winter the region will apply prewetted salt to regional roads that carry more than 20000 vehicles a day encompassing all multilane roads and many twolane routes as well mr harrison said- this will reduce the amount of salt used during light storms and produce a safer road as the snow hits the pavement it starts to melt right away so you dont get any binding on the pavement salt brine sticks when applied and wont bounce off the road surface as does conventional rock salt mr harrison said it can also be applied prior to a snow fall he said this treatment can be given up to two days in advance of a storm mr harrison said this will reduce the amount of salt used during light storms and produce a safer road as the snow hits the pavement it starts to melt right away so you dont get any binding on the pave ment applied night before salt brine can also be applied overnight to prevent formation of black ice a menace to early morning commuters he said mr kopperson said the pilot project appears to balance the need to provide safe winter roads with environmental concerns best of both worlds its really the best of both worlds its been way too long coming he said its one of those things as canadians living in ontario we have been taking for granted for a long time salt brine has been used in limited experiments on mulock drive in newmarket and along the hwy 7 corridor mr harrison said adding if the expanded pilot project is successful the new material could be used on roads throughout the region security concerns for cigarette sellers from page 1 pack because we are a company store and thats what head office is telling us the prices are now said the manager of beckers variety on carlton rd in unionville he declined to give his name the higher prices are resurrecting another concern for retailers theft the last time taxes went up there was an increase of crime and we had to increase security said mr monaghan we can get insurance on cigarettes but only on a certain amount between 5000 and 10000 with the price going up that covers less product a survey of convenience stores in the markham and stouffville areas found many owners who were unsure of what tax hikes will do to sales and some who were despondent about their options some retailers though did not fore see any problems i dont care if theyve raised the prices its not going to bug me all that much said dan lynch manager of markham convenience on wooten way in markham the only positive thing that will come out of it is the government will profit from pst collected at the whole sale level because wholesalers are being charged by the government mr lynch says the expenditures for retailers means it does not pay to sell cigarettes i have to pay for security insurance and i would prefer it if they put them in the liquor stores to let them deal with it i have to pay for security insurance and i would prefer it if they put them cigarettes in the liquor stores to let them deal with it dan lynch manager of markham convenience lennox buy 1 get 2 smmsits choose any two of the following 4 promotions when you invest in a lennox air conditioner from esp 1 up to 50000 rebate 2 free honeywell setback thermostat 3 free winter cover 4 5 year parts labour warranty expires june 29th 2002 mechanical we put our energy into conserving yours free in home consultation 9054710208 4167560820 this otter cannot be combined with any other promotion some conditions may apply visit our showroom at 66 bullock drive unit 3 i i j ilh4 25 bfg00dr1gh plus allseason passenger tires 100000 km tread wearout warranty tt36000seriessalefrom 4499 each p15580r13 other sizes sale 51748399 each w order r2884ne071a 21 from each with tradein diehard gold and international batteries 899910999 each with tradein 850000 ser there is a 5 deposit 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