For many of us in the Adirondacks, winter is behind us. Snow shovels are (mostly) put away, gardens are starting to take shape, and thoughts are turning to warmer days.
But for the people responsible for keeping our roads safe, the recent winter is still very much alive.
At AdkAction’s Clean Water Safe Roads Network End-of-Season Workshop, highway superintendents, private contractors, and partners gathered to take a close look at the storms, decisions, and strategies that shaped the past winter. This Lake Placid session is one of two post-season workshops, with a second taking place in the Southern Adirondacks.
Now in its fourth winter, the Clean Water Safe Roads Network continues to expand. This season, more than 20 highway departments, municipalities, and private contractors participated. Some attendees have been part of the Network since the beginning, while others are just getting started, but they share a common goal. As one new participant put it during introductions, “I like to save money and keep people safe.”
This year’s conversations came out of a more demanding season. After several relatively mild winters, 2025–2026 brought what many described as a more “old-fashioned” Adirondack winter. For the Town of Plattsburgh, that meant 75 weather event responses compared to 45 the previous year, and an unusually active November with roads needing treatment on over 25 days. Even so, they were able to reduce their salt spending by $100,000, a result that reflects careful attention to both strategy and execution.
Throughout the workshop, discussions led by WIT Advisers focused on what worked, what didn’t, and what could be improved. Participants compared plow blade angles, truck speeds, route differences, and how equipment performs across different road types. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and each team brings deep, place-based knowledge of its roads, equipment, and weather conditions.
What makes AdkAction’s Clean Water Safe Roads Network effective is the openness in the room. Towns share lessons with neighboring municipalities, contractors compare notes, and questions flow easily. The learning is practical and immediate, based on real-world experience.
That work is supported by continued investment in better tools. Through funding from the Lake Champlain Basin Program, AdkAction facilitated the delivery and installation of $160,000 in equipment this season to help reduce and better monitor salt use. At the same time, public awareness efforts are gaining traction, with New York State adopting AdkAction’s “Don’t Be Salty” campaign and expanding its reach beyond the Adirondacks.
The Clean Water Safe Roads Network is built on the idea that the best solutions come from the people doing the work. As it continues to grow, it offers a model for how collaboration and shared learning can help communities reduce salt use while keeping people safe.
Even when winter feels far away, the work to improve how we handle it is already underway.
