Adelaide trial to tackle urban heat by cooling roads

To make the city a more attractive place to work and live, Adelaide‘s Central Market District is trialing an innovative way to tackle urban heat in roads.

The Cool Road Adelaide project will test three heat reflective treatments, applied to a 100-metre section of Bowen Street. This will determine how each treatment works to reduce heat absorption, cool the area and create a more liveable environment.

Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said the project was another example of practical action to deal with the changing climate, which could improve both environmental and economic outcomes.

“Cities and urban areas really feel the heat on hot summer days because roads, footpaths and buildings absorb more heat from the sun,” Mr. Speirs said.

He said areas that are hot and uncomfortable are places that people avoid, so by cooling down hot urban areas people will use them boosting the local economy.

“Planting trees around cities can sometimes be difficult given the demands on open spaces, so another way to cool down cities is by cooling down roads,” Mr. Speirs said.

Lord Mayor of Adelaide Sandy Verschoor said adding heat reflective treatments to roads can create better quality roads that combat heat to reduce maintenance costs, as well as reduce energy costs for surrounding buildings.

“Three cool road surface products are being applied to Bowen Street West and will be monitored to see how they make the area cooler,” Ms. Verschoor said.

Pedestrians, cyclists and locals are encouraged to provide their feedback about the cooling effects of the project by visiting the City of Adelaide website.

“The City of Adelaide is also delivering tree planting and water sensitive urban design projects to make the Adelaide CBD a more comfortable place to live and visit,” Ms. Verschoor said.

The Cool Road Adelaide project will be completed at the end of summer. The results will be shared with local councils to help inform future cooling programs across South Australia.

Cool Road Adelaide is a Climate KIC Australia project delivered in partnership with the City of Adelaide ($35,000) and South Australian Government ($50,000), and supported by Fulton Hogan.