The gritting madness

[Finedon.Dandy]

It with annoyance I see a news item like this;

BBC News - County's road salt order diverted

because yesterday there was a report on telly from Hull saying how the local authority there had decided just to grit a single walkway through the local shopping parade, having done the whole of the pedestrian area prior to that! The bloke then went on to comment how sales/footfall in the shops had dropped because people couldnt get to the shops. Well I may be missing something but surely thats better than the potential of more car accidents because the roads havent been gritted.

Oh and another point - why did one council state (in another news report) that they had ordered their grit in plenty of time - December? - Oh yes of course thats PLENTY of time - NOT! grrrr

The footie matches (not that I am a fan myself) were mostly cancelled yesterday and schools were closed in most of the country last week (some areas I know with very good reason but some well...) yet I managed to get my two to school and playschool which is a one hour round trip, and quite hilly in part, with a bad pelvis, pushing a double pram? - mind you I am paying for that at the mo - ouch

Has the country gone mad????? Sorry rant over now - hope you all have a nice day!

[Two_Sheds]

Adrian Gunson, responsible for transport at Norfolk County Council, said ...
"We made provision for adequate supplies of road salt but these are now being sent to other parts of the country."

So who's nicked our salt?

[TPeers]

The politicians of course - they HAVE to be able to work in that huge drafty barn of a building with its astonomical heating bill and lousy insulation and that means grit on a direct route from which ever home they are currently claiming for to the main entrance of the House.

[Pies]

Adrian Gunson, responsible for transport at Norfolk County Council, said ...
"We made provision for adequate supplies of road salt but these are now being sent to other parts of the country."

So who's nicked our salt?

HM government comendered all salt and they are now allocating it as they seem fit.So if your council like mine made preperations it doesn't matter because the councils that didn't are now getting your salt because they didn't plan

[rustylady]

So who's nicked our salt?

And are they paying for it, or are we?

[Flummery]

Hull City Council has also commandeered the salt and grit from the local B&Q - so now those of us with our own sloping drives cannot get hold of any. Our supply from the beginning of the winter has now gone. Fair enough. We're retired. We don't have to go out - but many do. However, to rub salt (ha-ha!) in the wound, another local council (E Riding) complained publicly - on TV - that residents were 'pinching' the grit from the road-side grit boxes to do their own driveways. Where are they supposed to get it from if councils take all the stuff they might expect to buy?

Personal rant there. It doesn't affect me - our council grit boxes are always empty!

[selfraising]

I noticed outside 10 Downing street was nice and clear!!!!
TS wouldn't be suprised if some of your salt has come down this way, sorry. Our local council is uesless and only had 3 days worth left on Thursday, despite saying they had stockpiled! As to our local grit bins, don't think they ever had anything in them

[Glutton4...]

All our local grit bins have disappeared. We have some dodgy corners round here, and there was always a grit bin near them - but not now.

[Pies]

Our local council has a neat solution to all the gritting problems,they have designed all new estates such that a bus cant turn round so no buses or gritters as they only grit bus routes

[TonyF]

What are these gritters that everybody is writing about? Are they like big critters?

Apart from the very major roads here, haven't seen a gritter in the 5 years that we've lived here, even the main roads in the towns have to just get on with it!

Can't see what all the fuss is about personally, country's going to the dogs don't ya know, bit of snow and the whole place grinds to a halt, wasn't like that when we were kids in East London, just threw more coal on the fire, 14 miles to school in freezing fog on an unheated greenline bus, grumble, grumble, grumble ...........

[selfraising]

All our local grit bins have disappeared. We have some dodgy corners round here, and there was always a grit bin near them - but not now.

Just noticed that ours has diappeared too

[rustylady]

We used to have a yellow plastic grit bin at the top of the road till the local teenagers decided to melt it by setting a fire in it a couple of years ago. Hasn't been replaced.

[Alison]

It annoys me how much people are moaning about it (and yes I am aware of the irony of moaning about that ), many of the councils have done exactly what they have done for the past few years and it's been fine. If in milder winters they had ordered the amount of salt which they are being told they should have done this year then they would have been accused of wasting our money (can just see the daily mail headlines now ) so they can't win. Yes things are not perfect but they could be a lot worse.

[beefy]

It's easy really - leave more time for your journeys, slow down , be prepared to be late (I'd rather be 5 minutes late than be upside down dead in a ditch). Over the Christmas period I've had HGV's up roads that you could hardly walk on and over the years driven many 1000's of miles on untreated roads with no problems .
95% of the problems are caused by lack of driving ability and lack of confidence rather than the road conditions.Another point worth making is that the rock salt/ grit stops working when the temperature gets below around -6.
The only madness I see is the expectation that every road in the country should be kept clear 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

[Alison]

The only madness I see is the expctation that every road in the country should be kept clear 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Exactly, they never were and never should be as it would be ridiculous