More than 20 people died in Dallas and Tarrant counties from heat-related illnesses in 2023 as Texas saw record heat waves and triple-digit temperatures, according to the counties’ medical examiners.
Heat-related emergency visits to hospitals also spiked.
Cities nationwide are increasingly turning to “cool pavement” to find some relief, and this fall, Dallas officials will see the results of a pilot project.
Phoenix and Los Angeles pioneered pilot projects to coat their streets with cool pavement, which reflects more sunlight and absorbs less heat, reducing temperature spikes. In 2021, San Antonio became the first city in Texas to use the treatment to fight heat, testing it on a small stretch of asphalt.
In April, the city of Dallas shared its findings from a study that identified at least 10 neighborhoods as “urban heat island spots.” Heat islands are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than the surrounding countryside, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Cool pavement aims to reduce temperatures in urban environments and mitigate the urban heat island effect.
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Cool pavement traditionally refers to a sealant that has a higher albedo, the fraction of light that a surface reflects, and reflects more incoming solar radiation, lowering the surface temperature and the amount of heat absorbed by the surface.
The definition of cool pavement has expanded to include surfaces that use evaporation to help cool the air, materials that alter surface effectiveness in emitting energy and other technologies that can be applied to help it stay cooler than conventional asphalt.
Cool pavement is applied like regular asphalt. Compared to traditional black asphalt, cool pavement appears lighter and grayer.
But roads must be in good condition for the material to be applied as a layer to extend the life of the pavement surface, which is a limitation.
It is an “overlay sealant,” said Douglas Melnick, San Antonio’s chief sustainability officer. “If the road isn’t in great condition, it doesn’t really adhere very well and deteriorates fast.”
Here’s some more info on the technology from the Environmental Protection Agency. We did our own heat mapping study in Houston recently, and I’m sure we could apply this solution to our city and county as well. I don’t know if anything is in the works, but I’d very much like to see a pilot program for this here.