Snow melting platforms
GO Transit is installing snow and ice melting systems on the central platforms on the Lakeshore line. It use a mixture of heated water and anti-freeze flowing in tubes under the platforms. No salt needs to be used. This is the system that many high-rise buildings use to keep their driveway ramps clear of snow in winter.
So how about the Transit City stop platforms and snow?
There is a problem of what to use to heat the mixture for the snow melting systems. GO Transit will use natural gas boilers, just like the on-demand water heaters in homes. The natural gas piping would be a problem.
Another solution is to use electricity. However, that would be expensive.
Alternatively, we could use ground source heat pumps. Heat from the earth is extracted by running the tubes deep into the earth. Installation in this case would be expensive.
Or we can continue to use salt, but use some sort of
stop masters.
Maybe we should use stop masters who take care of each stop. They can clean the litter and posters, shovel snow, and report on problems.
In 1999, the Ontario government introduced a requirement that high school students complete 40 hours of community service before graduating. Maybe we could get teenagers in the neighbourhood of each stop to do community service by being stop masters.
The one problem would be that the unions will be against that idea.