Why has the City of Phoenix paused its cool pavement program?

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Cool pavement is one of Phoenix’s signature initiatives to combat the heat.

Yet four years and $15 million later, Arizona’s Family Investigates found the program is on hold. No new cool pavement has been installed this year.

The program dates back to 2020 when the city partnered with ASU to test the coating.

The idea is that while blacktop absorbs the heat, a gray coating could reflect it away.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego joined with the city’s Street Transportation Department last summer to mark a milestone: 100 miles of cool pavement had been laid.

However, as Arizona’s Family Investigates reported, the program has had mixed reviews.

“I don’t like it. I think it’s very unattractive, and I’ve called the city to complain about it,” said Deb Selzer, a Phoenix homeowner.

“Anything that can be done to help the city cool down should be done,” Katie Bechtel, her neighbor and another Phoenix homeowner, said.

Arizona’s Family Investigates first introduced you to these two women last summer.

It turns out that ASU’s research on cool pavement is also mixed.

Phoenix city leaders tout that the coating can make the ground nearly 12 degrees cooler.

However, research also found that the coating makes it much hotter for pedestrians, who absorb that reflected light.

They also concluded that the air temperature is only three-tenths of a degree cooler six feet off the ground during the day.

Arizona’s Family Investigates compared the sections of the city with cool pavement to the surrounding areas, finding that coating didn’t make a noticeable difference.

“Given those trade-offs that the research found, some might wonder why the city is moving forward with cool pavement?” said Ryan Stevens, an Engineer with the Phoenix Street Transportation Department.

“Well, I think paved surfaces comprise about 40% of our urbanized area, so there’s a lot of areas we can address,” he explained. That interview took place last summer.

They didn’t say at the time that they’d paused the program due to the product’s thickness and texture issues.

Then, in May, Arizona’s Family Investigates followed up and kept following up, learning no cool pavement has been installed this year, more than halfway through the paving season.

The Phoenix Streets Department spokesman said additional testing once again found issues with the sealant. They now plan to switch to another product.

But they haven’t specifically stated where or when they would apply the new product.

The department declined repeated requests for an interview.

Phoenix Vice Mayor and Councilmember Debra Stark, the Chair of the Transportation Subcommittee, agreed to talk, offering a different explanation for what’s behind the holdup.

“On the sidewalks, it tends to reflect, and there was some heat effect from that, and so we want to try and address that,” Stark explained.

That’s exactly what Arizona’s Family Investigates has been following up on.

“We still need to address that reflectivity issue. And so they’re looking at a new compound to try to address those issues,” Stark said.

While the Streets Department said they only apply cool pavement to repaved roads, the coating costs about three times more than the traditional one.

We asked Councilwoman Stark if that was a good use of taxpayer money.

“I think so. Again, we have a critical problem in our city: the urban heat island. I think we need to combat that. But what’s been a real outcome of this has been a product that actually lasts longer than the typical mill and overlay,” Stark said.

But does it? Arizona’s Family Investigates stopped by five locations treated with it over the last four years and checked in with neighbors.

“I could tell you it’s not like a big difference for me,” Victor Gallegos, a Phoenix homeowner, said. “I thought it was going to stop certain things like the cracking.”

“An A,” Jason Jorden said about the cool pavement. “I mean, it’s good. It looks kinda bizarre, but I like it.”

Neighbors can see where it had been put down in 2022 and 2023.

“It’s worn already. It’s gone pretty fast,” Armando Bedroza, another homeowner, said.

Then there’s Esteban Park. The parking lot was among the first locations where cool pavement went down.

Arizona’s Family Investigates couldn’t distinguish between cool pavement and the blacktop.

After the Streets Department confirmed it was the right place, Arizona’s Family Investigates took photos of the pavement and shared them with Councilwoman Stark.

“When I saw those pictures, I thought maybe we need to get a little update on what’s going on,” Stark said. “I still have great hopes that this is a program we need to do and that we’re going to overcome any obstacles.”

In response, the Streets Department wrote, “The dirt and wear seen in the photos is typical of a seal coating that was applied four years ago ... The lifespan of a seal coat is approximately eight years.”

They said they’ll resume putting down cool pavement in August, stressing that the entire program is not paused.

The department points out that ASU continues to research it, but it hasn’t installed any new cool pavement.

Arizona’s Family Investigates returned to Bechtel to see what they thought a year later.

“It’s a great step. I just wish it was a little bit lighter,” Bechtel said.

Selzer said it hasn’t made anything cooler.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “The whole neighborhood is like that was a waste of money.”

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