MESSAGE SENT ON BEHALF OF BRIAN DEVLIN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
Dear Community Councillor
Clearing Glasgow’s road network of snow, sleet and ice is a top priority for the Council’s winter maintenance team.
With a 24/7 operation and using up to 250 vehicles for gritting and ploughing, Land and Environmental Services (LES) hasteams of staff working around the clock to keep Glasgow’s 1168 miles of roads and footways safe and free from ice and snow.
Often at this time of year the press publish seasonal forecast stories which may indicate ‘the worst winter in decades’ or ‘weeks of heavy snow fall expected and extreme temperatures’. However, the reality is that long term weather forecasting is notoriously unreliable and, for this reason, our own specialist road forecast provider will not give seasonal forecasts.
The consequence of this can be undue concern to residents and motorists alike. Last year, similar stories appeared in the press, yet we experienced a relatively mild winter in Glasgow with our team treating main roads 74 times and spreading 14,590 tonnes of salt across the city between 17 December 2014 and 10 April 2015. We experienced only one short-lived period of snow in the second week of January 2015 and, quickly, road conditions returned to normal after gritting and ploughing took place.
Arrangements are made every year to ensure the availability of sufficient winter maintenance vehicles, plant and trained staff. This winter the Council has invested in seven new large permanently mounted gritters which will be used to treat main arterial routes. The introduction of these new vehicles has meant that our priority routes have been redesigned to improve the efficiency of our gritting operations.
The Snow Warden programme, set up in 2011/2012, sees Clean Glasgow’s Neighbourhood Improvement Volunteers, also known as Snow Wardens, co-ordinating groups of local people to help hand grit areas within their communities. They receive training, grit and snow kits from the Council. A crucial aspect of the Snow Warden role is that they will work independently and in support of the Council’s gritting operations which are carried out in accordance with the Winter Maintenance Plan and our statutory obligations. As Snow Wardens operate in their own local communities, they have a knowledge and appreciation of specific elderly or vulnerable residents, streets and amenities which they consider should be gritted. So it is important that Snow Wardens continue to decide themselves on what and where to grit. This ethos works well as these locations, by their nature, may be a lower priority for the Council whilst significant to the local community.
Regular winter updates, including severe weather warnings, gritting action and details of any school closures will be available on the Council’s website and Twitter feed @GlasgowCC.
The LES page on Connect provides information on self-help and how residents can grit safely and legally, the Winter Maintenance Plan 2015/16 and a link to find the nearest grit bin. Also the LES page contains practical, simple winter driving guidance such as check the weather forecast before setting out, consider whether to drive or take public transport, allow more time for your journey, charge your mobile, keep an emergency travel kit in your boot etc. This information is available at www.glasgow.gov.uk/wintermaintenance.
I trust that this information is of assistance and would ask that you share this information appropriately.
Brian Devlin
Executive Director
Land and Environmental Services