Council chairman raises questions on sanding

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
   HOULTON, Maine — It has been a long, hard winter for many as residents try to keep up with large amounts of snow and ice, coupled with sub-zero temperatures for days on end.
But for some, a different problem has come up this winter … flat tires.    Houlton Town Council Chairman Paul Cleary broached the subject at a Jan. 27 council meeting, when he stated he had received eight phone calls over the past few weeks from residents complaining of flat tires caused by sharp rocks and ledge used in the gravel to sand roads.
“It’s not our issue, but it seems to be quite an issue out there with a lot of people talking about it,” Cleary said.
Houlton Town Manager Eugene Conlogue said the town is not using a mixture of sand with ledge this season. The town purchases its gravel from Steelstone Industries.
“We are using screened bank run this year,” Conlogue stated in an email. “We did use 1/4 – inch ledge stone added in previous years. It grabs better, but adding ledge stone to the sand adds expense. I chose not to this year to maintain the lower price. Steelstone does sell it to other contractors of parking lots and contracted towns.”
Aside from private contractors providing sand in commercial parking lots, the Maine Department of Transportation sands portions of North Street, the Calais Road and Bangor Road, which are frequently traveled by Houlton residents and may be a contributor to the problem.
“We (the town of Houlton) do not have ledge in our sand supply,” Conlogue reiterated. “I really don’t know what else we can look into.”
While some town councilors may be hearing increased complaints, at least one local tire company stated they have not seen any big spike in flat tires this winter.
Jon Miller of Houlton Tire said his place of business has not seen any dramatic increase in tire repairs this winter.
“I don’t see it as an epidemic by any means,” Miller said. “We get a few every week, but that’s pretty common for this time of year.”
Miller did say, however, that some of the items being pulled out of tires is a bit sharper than what he has seen in previous years.
“If anything, I think sanders are using material that is a bit more aggressive to cut through all this ice we have had this season,” he said. “We really have had an extreme winter, in terms of ice. In my opinion, the municipalities and private contractors are using the materials they have to and unfortunately it can take its toll on tires, especially older tires.”
Miller said the condition and quality of the tire could also play a role in that tire getting damaged from sharp rocks.
“When shopping for tires for the winter, they need to consider a good, brand name tire,” he said. “People shouldn’t necessarily shop on price, but on quality. We live in a tough terrain area.”
Miller added that many people are quick to blame the sand used on roads when realistically, that person may have been driving on tires that should have been replaced.
“A lot of the tires that are coming in with flats are ones that are over half worn out,” he said. “That means those tires are more susceptible to punctures.”