Calgary implements new system for winter road conditions.

Calgary is the first city to be testing a new icy road warning system designed to warn motorists of poor winter driving conditions. Disks the shape and size of hockey pucks are installed in the asphalt into designated road sections. They are normally a milky grey colour, but the dye inside them turns bright red when the asphalt hits freezing temperatures.

Mac Logan, director of the roads business unit for the City of Calgary, said he hopes this system will be effective in warning motorists about their ability to turn and stop in the winter.

He said the system, which was developed in Kamloops, B.C., is being tested to “see how effective they are and how well they hold up” before deciding whether it becomes a permanent part of Calgary’s road system.

Logan said the disks will be implanted along the white line and centre line in city roads, including 14th Street south of Glenmore Trail and on the Crowchild Trail bridge. The disks will be installed by the end of January, he said. Drivers seem to support the idea.

“It would probably help (drivers) to know to slow down,” driver Nancy Lyster said.

She said she drives on 14th Street daily, and the driving conditions can be dangerous in the winter.

However, it is unknown whether sunlight will affect the accuracy of the dye to sense the temperature.

Logan added the disks could also be torn out by snowplows, or be covered in road grime so motorists cannot see them.

If disks are effective and don’t damage the roads, Logan said city staff would then consider implementing them on more roads.

Click Here to go to the City of Calgary website for more information on their installation of the icy road warning system.