How Texas Cities Are Making Streets Cooler to Beat The Heat

Since moving to Texas, I've always wanted to see if I could cook an egg on the cement outside. Imagine cooking a full breakfast with nothing but a spatula and the ground...well, cities in Texas have taken steps in seeing that this, thankfully, DOESN'T happen.

With roadway temps reaching almost 150 degrees in some areas, cities in Texas have taken steps to lessen the impact that high Texas heat has on the people. The city of Dallas is hopping on the 'cool pavement' trend.

If the term 'cool pavement' sounds like an oxymoron to you, that's because it's a fairly recent endeavor.

'Cool Pavement' Origins

Back in 2021, San Antonio implemented the Cool Pavement Program. Their reasoning for this was to combat the phenomenon called "urban heat effect." This is when certain parts of the city with a higher number of buildings and roads absorb more heat than others.

Rather than re-doing an entire road at a time, the city applied cooling treatments to various stretches of roads and highways to test out the new technology.

They stated that the benefits of durability and sustainability warrant the hefty $1 million price tag.

Dallas Joins the Party

The city of Dallas has recently adopted similar programs for their burning HOT streets.

The 'cool pavement' technology has been applied to 6 miles inside of a Northwest Dallas neighborhood for testing, and could expand to more coverage if all goes well.

The Dallas Department of Public Works claims that the difference will be as much as 10 degrees cooler after the treatment is applied. The product is also designed to last up to 20 years.

Although results are already being seen by those in the neighborhood, the city will meet in the fall to formally decide whether or not they will keep the new treatment.