Keeping Warwickshire moving this winter
While some may be dreaming of a white Christmas, Warwickshire County Council’s County Highways are working hard to keep the roads clear.
Warwickshire’s gritters have been out on the road on 24 occasions this winter – more than the normal average number of grits for this time of year. So far 4,000 tonnes of grit have been used on the county’s roads.
Cllr Cockburn, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment and Economy, said: “The cold snap has kept us very busy for the past month, and the Met Office is predicting the freezing temperatures to continue for some time to come.
“County Highways have responded exceptionally well to the pressures of coping with this severe weather spell and have worked tirelessly to ensure all the roads on our primary gritted routes have remained clear and safe throughout.
“We must also spare a thought for their families, whose support is so vital at this time of year, because if the bad weather continues through the festive period the drivers will be called out to work over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
“I must also ask everyone to please drive safely in wintry weather conditions. Make sure everything is working correctly on the car before you set off, take care at all times on the roads and adjust your driving as necessary.”
Warwickshire County Council’s County Highways team grits 1,700km, or 46 per cent of the county’s road network. During a cold snap, it has 29 vehicles out gritting the roads and keeps drivers on round-the-clock standby from the end of October until the end of March.
Members of the public can check our website http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/snow for updates.
Meanwhile Warwickshire County Council is asking volunteers to come forward and join up for its Voluntary Snow Warden scheme and help the county cope with winter weather.
Launched last month, the county council is in the process of recruiting a network of more than 200 Voluntary Snow Wardens through parish and town councils and housing associations to keep Warwickshire moving during severe weather.
Each snow warden will be equipped with an information pack and the Government’s Snow Code which details the level of response required in the event of heavy snowfall.
Their function during severe weather conditions will primarily be providing a flow of information to the County Highways Team on the local situation and work with area teams to determine what action to take on localised needs to supplement the operation of the department.
Priority will be given to clear busy footways and areas outside shops and schools and steep areas agreed in advance with highways. If necessary, area teams will sanction the treatment of agreed village and town footways from salt supplied from the existing grit bins or at agreed locations from additional sealed bags as resources allow.
The county council advises members of the public that there is no law stopping people from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside their property, pathways to your property or public space.
If an accident occurs, it is highly unlikely that an individual would be sued as long as you take care and use common sense to make sure that you do not make the pavement or pathway clearly more dangerous that before. People using area affected by snow and ice also have responsibility to be careful themselves.
The winter weather will cause potholes due to the freeze and thaw of the roads. To report a pothole call County Highways 01926 412 515.