Things I Learned: Berlin’s Road Salt Ban

I am used to seeing road salt in New York City before and after it snows. A couple of years ago (definitely during the Eric Adams administration), I recall having noted remarkable amounts of road salt in the street near Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. We are in the midst of what I would describe as a subpar snow clean-up, and perhaps coincidentally, I have observed less salt than in other recent snows. But while I have come to expect road salt, I learned from Brussels Signal that my expectations would be different if I lived in Berlin instead of Brooklyn: > Berlin’s Nature Protection Law from 2013 expressly forbids the use of road salt or other defrosting agents throughout the city. The ban covers pavements and driveways as well as public roads. Far be it from me to advise Berlin on its municipal policies, but I am glad New York City did not follow suit. While I have many problems with some of the ideas New York City politicians come up with, I am confident that the ghost of John Lindsay will protect us from road salt bans. According to Brussels Signal, Berlin justified its road salt ban in the name of protecting the trees. My area of Brooklyn has plenty of trees, so I am inclined to believe that the salt risk is manageable without a ban. In fact, given how since 2020 dog owners in Brooklyn appear to have collectively decided that the essential purpose of tree pits is to serve as doggy litter boxes, the salt may have a net positive effect in that it tends to keep the dogs away from the trees.