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Graham, Tom and Ian
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Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
What were the local issues four decades ago?
Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
Slip-sliding on the pavements – how’s Stockport done on gritting?
by Lib Dem team on 26 December, 2009
UPDATE: There are eight gritters working around the clock on roads around Stockport Borough. There’s a long list of roads needing their attention from Marple to Gatley, Reddish to Woodford. I’ve got the roads off Pendlebury Road, around Silverdale Road/Kendal Drive/Borrowdale in Gatley and around Brackenwood Drive in Cheadle added to the list. The Council isn’t able to guarantee a response time, but I’m assured everything is being done that can be done with current resources.
If you’ve other roads that need to be added, please let me know and I’ll sort it out (I’m around for the next couple of days).
Returning home from my parents’ today I found all the main roads completely clear, except for my own (small residential) road which was slippier than ever. It’s east-west so gets limited sunlight on the road itself at this time of year and the snow has turned into an inch of hard-packed ice.
The same issue has afflicted the pavements across large chunks of the Borough – many are now treacherous.
I’ve been sent these two pictures of Tumblewood Drive (off School’s Hill in Cheadle) where there was a similar problem. Seven people spent two hours clearing ice from the road and it was hard work.
I spent half an hour trying to clear the ice from the road and pavement in front of my house, with very limited success.
The question for all of us is what, if anything, should the Council be doing about it.
The Council’s approach to gritting is (I’m told) set out in a policy document from 2006 and is similar to other local authorities up and down the country. Stockport aims to grit all major and minor roads across the Borough as a matter of course, but not residential roads. Key car parks and high-use pavements are also gritted, along with some other key locations such as the entrance to Stepping Hill Hospital.
So there are two issues.
First, did Stockport do what it set out to.
As I’ve written in other posts, my personal experience is that it did, despite some very tricky weather conditions (e.g. salt spread on the roads last Saturday was partially washed away by rain in the evening, so the same roads had to be re-done on Sunday). Some clearly disagree with that. As a councillor, I want to make sure the Council has done what it should have.
Second, should the Council do more than is currently in its policy? Should it grit all roads and pavements automatically, or perhaps grit some residential roads – such as those on slopes?
This is a tricky one. Travelling about today, I’m very concerned. I’m sure there are many people – not just the elderly – unable to get around safely right now. Many more people are sensibly walking in the roads to avoid slipping, but on little roads like mine that doesn’t help much.
On the other hand, I don’t know how much more it would cost to do all that additional gritting. We could end up spending millions of pounds and then not get another freeze like this one for two decades – I just don’t know.
In the New Year I will be looking to review exactly what was done and, with my fellow councillors and our council officers, explore the options for doing more. I don’t feel I’m in a position to form a firm opinion until I’ve got a few more facts, but you can be sure I’ll be reporting back.
Of course, you are welcome to offer your opinions and concerns here. I also suggest you contact our local MP, Mark Hunter, and – if you live outside Cheadle & Gatley ward – your own local councillors. (I can address general issues, but am not able to take up specific issues such as a particular problem road when it’s outside my ward).
See also my other posts on this issue, plus the comments made on each:
Report on snow, travel and services for 6th Jan
What gritting was done on the night of 23rd December in Stockport?
My experiences of snow and gritting in Stockport
Stockport’s been gritting over the weekend before Christmas
Ice in Stockport – now we need to tackle the cul-de-sacs
Stockport ice and gritting update, 4th Jan
7 Comments
Berkeley road, and some of the nearby roads such as Deneside Crescent need gritting. They’re covered in sheet ice and an absolute death trap at the moment.
You mentioned that you cleared the ice outside our house, what is the legal position with this, as I understand it, you could potentially be sued if somebody slipped and injured themselves on an area you had cleared?
The pavement outside my house is even worse than the roads, but I dare not try an clear it as we live in such a libellous country.
Is there a way to find out the nearest grit bins, are these for public use to clear pathways?
Regards,
Greg
Interesting question on the legal position about being sued. Technically, that might be true, but has it ever actually happened? I think there’s a point where you have to get on with doing the right thing and worry about being sued later.
(I recently did a First Aid course where the same issue came up – we’re one of the few countries with no “Good Samaritan” law obliging those with First Aid training to help someone in need.)
I’ve asked for the two roads you mentioned to be added to the list for gritting (no gritting happening at the moment – no point in the rain as the salt just gets washed away).
[…] How’s Stockport done on gritting (26th Dec) […]
The pavements and highway at Bath Crescent and Malmesbury Road Cheadle Hulme are terrible and impossible to pass (I have had two bad falls in the last two weeks on black ice )with my daughter her wheelchair please will the council grit them.
I understand that the council gritters are very hard pressed at the moment but I live in a cul- de-sac – Airedale Close in Cheadle. When it snows, the many elderly residents become housebound. There is a sharp bend and a steep slope at the entrance to the cul-de-sac. this makes driving extremely dangerous. One resident took 15 attempts to get out of the road. Repeated calls to the council have been to no avail. We are told that they are not obliged to grit in residential areas! It took 4 neighbours 2 hours of very hard work to clear a path through the snow and today we are doing it again! Does this mean that we are to be prisoners in our homes whenever it snows? Airedale Close is by no means the only road in this area to be affected in this way. Would it be possible for a grit bin to be placed in the vacinity so that we can at least help ourselves in future, as we obviously can’t rely on the council to help!
Hello,
Totally agree with the previous comment – can the council oblige, at the request of the residents, with the provision of grit bins on each road. We seem to be provided with bins for almost everything else!
Hi Kathryn,
I suspect the issue with providing more grit bins isn’t so much the bins themselves, it’s that they need to be refilled on a regular basis. Buying a few hundred extra grit bins would be achievable; keeping them filled with grit would be a lot harder (and more expensive).
I’m keen to look at increasing the number of grit bins – I think I now know all the roads around Cheadle & Gatley with serious issues so hopefully we can identify those in greatest need.