roads – The Concordian

Toilet paper might be the saving grace of Montreal’s terrible roads, but there are other theories about this interesting phenomenon.

Montreal has turned commuting into a religious experience; I’ve never prayed more than for my car to stay intact when going over one of the city’s characteristic potholes. Driving on Montreal roads is an experience perhaps more wild than La Ronde roller coasters, but luckily, a sneaky solution is in the works, and might be saving our dire situation.

The first time I noticed it was on my very own street. I was driving home from a friend’s house, and was shocked to see what looked like toilet paper blowing in the wind, scattered like streamers. At first, I wondered if we had been the victim of a movie-esque teenage prank, but as time passed, I began to see that this phenomenon was not unique to my neighbourhood.

As any self-respecting journalist, I realized that it was my duty to figure out why toilet paper keeps littering our streets.

In recent times, toilet paper has gone from a hot topic for giggly nine-year-olds to a widely discussed product by adults. Unless you live under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard about the toilet paper shortages that marked the first wave of the pandemic.

Experts consider this shortage to be a possible reason for toilet paper on the streets of Montreal. The toilet paper companies, delighted with the boom in business, began to overproduce, leaving them with a surplus that would literally take years to deplete. The companies then decided to donate the surplus to the government, who chose to decorate the streets with it, claiming that it would greatly contribute to “a lack of ambiance.”

“I’ve done my research on this,” said Ben Wexler, who presents a different theory. He’s a student at Dawson in Liberal Arts, so you know that what he says is legit. He explained that though there’s not a substantial coverage of this on mainstream media outlets, there are actually “fluffy aliens” who have heard about the toilet paper shortage on Earth. These aliens have seen us fighting over it, and worry that we’re going to “come up there and start using them as toilet paper because we don’t have enough.” Wexler says that they dropped the toilet paper down to Earth as a precaution against this frankly rational fear.

Oakley Griffin, an Honours English Literature student at Concordia, originally wondered whether this phenomenon was the “aftermath of some failed protest.” He’s discovered, however, that stuffing toilet paper in the cracks of the streets is supposed to help mend them. To this, he wonders “whose dad is in charge of fixing the roads,” as this stunt is reminiscent of his own father dealing with an ant infestation by killing them using duct tape.

“With a 3-ply roll of toilet paper, from Charmin, no less, you get the best results,” explained Randy Brandman Farber, a Montreal therapist, on how it helps fix the roads. She says that because of the high quality of the product used on the streets, she would have no hesitation “scraping it up” and bringing it into her home if there was another shortage.

Wexler echoes this sentiment, but for different reasons, citing that “it’s a gift from the aliens, and it would be rude not to.”

In addition, given that public restrooms are often closed in these tumultuous times, toilet paper on the roads provides an excellent solution in an emergency bathroom situation.

That being said, toilet paper might, in fact, be the saving grace of Montreal’s bumpy roads. Either way, its presence on the streets is a soft caress reminding us that though we might not be able to see our friends, at least it’s always got our backs… or better yet, behinds.

Feature graphic by Taylor Reddam

New study outlines system for predicting pavement degradation

A Concordia professor and two students have designed a new system to evaluate the condition of pavement in the hopes of preventing its deterioration. Tarek Zayed, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, and graduate students Soliman Abu-Samra and Wael Tabra published the findings in their report, “Pavement Condition Rating Using Multiattribute Utility Theory,” in the Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements.

The authors studied data on road conditions from the Nebraska Department of Roads, supplemented by a survey of experts from across the world, to determine the most serious kinds of pavement defect. They identified transverse cracking—cracking which runs parallel to the road—as the most serious form of deterioration. Other forms included rutting—when the pavement is deformed by tires in high heat—and road roughness. The researchers then considered each of these factors when it came to their impact on pavement quality.

However, Abu-Samra said simply examining these factors is not enough.

“[Existing systems] just [observe] the defects and assess the condition accordingly,” he said. “But our system takes into account the triggers of these defects. So, basically, it takes into account the climate condition, the average daily traffic, the average daily temperature—all of these factors do contribute to the deterioration of the asphalt.”

The model was shown to predict pavement deterioration with 94 per cent accuracy.

Graduate student Soliman Abu-Samra speaking at a TED Talk event. Photo courtesy of Soliman Abu-Samra.

Abu-Samra said roads across the continent are in poor condition because current municipal strategies are reactive rather than preventative. More than half of roads in Canada are in subpar condition, according to the 2016 Canadian Infrastructure Report Card.

“We are trying to move from a reactive approach to a preventative approach,” Abu-Samra said. “Reaction is not management.”

According to the 2016 Canadian Infrastructure Report, “spending $1 on prevention” when roads are in peak condition “eliminates or delays spending $6 to $10 on rehabilitation or reconstruction” when they are in poor condition later on.

Citing the Canadian Infrastructure Report, Zayed, Abu-Samra and Tabra’s paper said the cost to fix all Canadian roads in fair or poor condition is estimated at $91.1 billion in total, or $7,325 per household.

Abu-Samra was not aware of any research comparing Montreal roads to those of other North American cities. However, according to the CBC, the city of Montreal evaluated more than half of its roads as being “bad” or “very bad” in 2015. The city determined this by looking at Pavement Condition Index (PCI) scores from that year. The PCI is an index used in many North American cities to evaluate stretches of pavement on a 100-point scale, with 100 being the best and one being the worst.

Abu-Samra has also published three books on infrastructure maintenance, has delivered a TED Talk on the subject and currently serves as the vice-president of Concordia’s chapter of the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT). He said he hopes the model designed by his team will be adopted across North America, which currently lacks a standard pavement evaluation system.

The published study can be downloaded here.

Photo by Kirubel Mehari