Cool Roadways Partnership
The Cool Roadways Partnership (CRP) is a peer learning network that aims to scale the deployment of cool roadway options as a key strategy to manage rising urban temperatures and build heat-resilient communities. The CRP meets quarterly to share progress and learn from current projects and programs.
Objectives
The CRP is a convening space for municipalities, researchers, and organizations to communicate insights on cool pavement projects and stay up to date on technological progress.
The CRP works with manufacturers to assess available cool roadway solutions and encourage development of new solutions.
CRP’s priority is to increase the number and variety of cool roadway demonstrations to help overcome barriers to their widespread use.
CRP’s long-term goal is to establish procurement specification standards and for cool roadways to ultimately be embedded in state and local roadwork policies.
The Smart Surfaces Coalition recognizes that cool pavement products utilize diverse technologies with varying effectiveness. In an effort to generate impartial data on product performance, SSC and CRP partners sent a request to federal agencies to support third-party testing of cool pavement products. Read the letter here.
CRP Member Cities
Resources
SSC’s Cool Pavement Primer
Downloadable Cool Roadways Fact Sheet
FAQs
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Cool pavement refers to a range of emerging technologies that reduce surface and nearby air temperatures, either by increasing the amount of solar energy reflected by the surface, or making the surface permeable to water to cool by evaporation.
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Cool pavements reduce surface temperatures by 5-20°F. Air temperature reductions are possible when cool pavements are installed at scale.
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Cool pavements are more durable, reduce street lighting needs and improve nighttime visibility, and lower the temperature of stormwater runoff. When installed at scale, cool pavements can reduce demand for electricity and air conditioning, and improve air quality by reducing ozone formation
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Material costs vary widely, ranging from under $4 to approximately $20 per square yard.
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Curing times vary by product and weather conditions, but can be anywhere from under an hour to a little over a day– very similar to traditional products.
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While cool roofs and white roofs are used interchangeably, the same is not true for pavements. Most cool pavements are medium to light gray in color — similar to a fresh concrete sidewalk. Glare is rarely, if ever, a complaint.
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Energy benefits and costs of cooler pavements depend on the scale, siting, and location of implementation but is generally positive. An analysis conducted by Akbari et al. (2001) for Los Angeles estimated that energy and environmental savings alone are about $0.36 per square meter.