LAVEEN, AZ — The City of Phoenix is installing its 100th mile of Cool Pavement this month.
The special street coating is being applied to neighborhood streets in Laveen on Tuesday. The specific area getting the temperature-lowering coating is the area of Lower Buckeye Road and Durango Street between 83rd and 79th avenues.
"The seal coat material is a water-based, non-toxic, recyclable product. It is not paint. It is an emulsion made of water, asphalt, polymers and filler minerals that bond to asphalt," according to the city.
The Cool Pavement Program started in 2020 and researchers have been analyzing the impacts the coating has on the urban heat island effect.
An initial study found that areas with the special coating, compared to traditional asphalt, had average surface temperatures 10-12 degrees cooler in some of the hottest times of the day.
The study also found the nighttime air temperature was about a half-degree lower over the special surfaces.
The city is hoping to have 118 total miles of Cool Pavement installed by the end of 2023.
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