‘Cool pavement’ being tested at Arizona shopping center

PHOENIX, Ariz. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Crews installed "cool pavement" in the largest surface test yet Monday at the Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix, AZ, according to KPHO.

It's a one-year pilot program with researchers from Arizona State University (ASU), which has been studying the innovative way to help people find relief from heat waves since 2007, according to KPHO.

"We've only done this in the past with street-based projects, residential streets, and that's always challenging because the street is not a very large area, and from one neighborhood to the next, the nearby land cover matters a lot. So if you have a house that has an irrigated lawn and you irrigate in the morning that will affect our measurements," said David Sailor, ASU professor and researcher.

But it's not entirely new to the Phoenix area, which has put in over 100 miles of the "cool pavement" on streets, to mixed results. While it lowered pavement temps up to 12 degrees, it actually made people standing on it up to 5 degrees hotter--because the coating reflects heat, according to KPHO.

So, researchers have added sensors above and below the pavement to gauge temperature differentials for a year, according to KPHO.