Use of Heating Facilities in Sidewalks to Improve Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety

This paper presents the use of heating facilities (known as a snow melting system) in sidewalks at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and its practice in helping with reducing labor-based snow removal and improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety. NAU is located in Flagstaff, Arizona. In the winter months with high attitude (7000 feet), temperatures in Flagstaff are extremely cold and the amount of snowfall (approximately 108 inches per year) has been significant. As of 2012 NAU has planned to install snow melting systems in sidewalks with the goal to provide visitors, students, faculty, and staff with a stably safe environment for transportation in the snow. Hydronic system has been selected to generate heat energy using glycol-water as heat source. Pipes are embedded 4 ½” below the pavement surface with glycol-water being circulated within the pavement. To help with mechanical system design, heat output values in Flagstaff from October to the following May were calculated. In January 28, 2013, a snow storm was blasting across the city. The snow melting system was turned on at midnight to heat the pavement. Based on an observation in the early morning at 7am, no snow accumulation was found on all heating sidewalks at the three project locations, provided the heat output computation was appropriate and the hydronic system embedded in the pavement was working very well to generate heat energy to melt the snow. The snow melting system has demonstrated its abilities to heat the pavement and melt the snow. The effectiveness of using heating facilities in sidewalks to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety has been considered satisfactory.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHD65 Winter Maintenance.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Ho, Chun-Hsing
  • Shen, Junyi
  • Ishaku, Darius Ikan-tubui
  • Du, Mengxi
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC
  • Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
• Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: 14p
• Monograph Title: TRB 93rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Heating (Structures); Melting; Pedestrian safety; Sidewalks; Snow removal; Winter maintenance
• Uncontrolled Terms: Bicycle safety
• Geographic Terms: Flagstaff (Arizona)
• Subject Areas: Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I62: Winter Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01514917
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 14-2896
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 21 2014 3:16PM