Gritting

[FredCasa]

Just heard from Southwark Couoncil that they're supposed to be gritting everywhere. All the roads in our area (Marmora, Mundania, Therapia, Scutari) have been like an ice rink since the bad weather started, not a speck of salt to be seen. Grossly negligent?

[Sandperson]

I have to agree. Nunhead side of the park (so just over the Aquarius from you) is down right dangerous on most pavements.

[Trump]

Contact your Councillor?

[jimmy two times]

Of course it's negligent. They haven't even issued us with snow shoes of huskys yet !

[PeckhamRose]

020 7525 2000 Phone them and tell them your area and that you've not been gritted, and add stuff like you've seen elderly folk fall over and cyclists fall over.

[sian]

pavements round here just off lordship lane - havent been gritted.

[dv1]

When this happened last year, I emailed Southwark to complain about lack of gritting and they sent a snotty reply saying that they had been out gritting pavements, but worked on a priority basis i.e. main roads first and that somewhere like Dulwich Village was not a priority and that it wasn't that bad anyway. Nice.

So on that basis, there seems little hope that residential roads are going to get any attention.

Despite all that - I have not seen a single gritter in the Dulwich area this year anyway.

[bil]

Yesterday I saw a man slip backwards and hit his head on the pavement. It was a miracle that he didn't lacerate his scalp! The roads are so icy.....I saw them adding grit to the pavement last week but not since the snow came

[pipslon]

Just called the council re gritting in Marmora/Therapia/Scutari area and the woman was very pleasant. She said there had already been one request and she would also pass on mine. Guess we just have to wait and see.....

[tiger ranks]

side roads around goodrich road going all the way up towards the schools are icy this is a discrace what do we all pay overpriced council tax for

[James Barber]

Southwark Council website gives its winter plans. I've also attached Southwark's Winter Plan. I'd welcome comments and feedback that I can take up.

Following is extract around pavements:

"In severe weather conditions, when snow or ice remains for some days, consideration is given in the following order to the treatment of pedestrian routes, footways, stairs and pavements

- Town centre streets and main pedestrian routes

- Shopping frontages if on a footpath

- Busy pedestrian routes

- Hospitals and doctors surgery frontages and routes

- School frontages and routes

- Community centre frontages and routes

- Steep sections of footway and footpaths

- Predominately elderly residents areas and sheltered housing units

- Other residential areas

The council can only grit council owned highways and footpaths. If you require any more information, please contact us on 020 7525 2000 or at [email protected]."

Is this sufficient? and the right order to prioritise?

Tell me what you think.

[VikkiM]

I've sent a list of bad roads to the council as well.

I don't think anyone could argue against the prioritisation that Southwark sets out above but the particular problems I came across were places with steep slopes - the top end of Goodrich and Rye Hill Park for example. Plus footpaths remaining icy and untreated compared to roads.

Obviously many steep and narrow streets can't be reached by the gritting lorries but I haven't seen many salt bins in our area. Following the link above it says that Southwark has 45 salt bins. A quick google reveals that Lambeth has 540. James (and I'm absolutely not trying to score any political points) I'm wondering if you can shed light on this? The residents I spoke to at the weekend would find better access to salt bins useful but I don't know what people on here think or whether there has been problems with bins in the past?

Victoria

Peckham Rye Labour

[email protected]

[Nero]

Given that the council cannot grit every pavement in teh borough, and given that some people on here are very up in arms about it, I suggest getting some salt and doing the small bit outside your own home. If you are that concerned over people lacerating their scalps, you will do as I suggest. If not, then you will just carry on whining.

[ontheedge]

Sorry but would take a few tons of salt to do woodvale to 63 bus stop which is like an ice rink.

[SCSB79]

Don't know if it was the council or a very nice person, but one side of Goodrich Road up towards DOnkey Alley has been done. Was a death trap.

[PeckhamRose]

There are a lot of elderly people around Torridge Gardens SE15 and that road has not been gritted. I rang the number 020 7525 2000 (Option 5 by the way) and they said it was due to be done today. But it's 3.15pm getting dark and still not done. My estate is like an ice rink. Just so's you (Councillors) know. Thanks for any help you can give.

[ontheedge]

and getting nice and wet out now in time for freezing tonight

[James Barber]

Hi Victoria,

Yes, I've just found the same Lambeth Press Release. Makes intereasting comparison.

States Lambeth has extra 250 tonnes of salt this year compared to last making total Lambeth salt stocks of 600 tonnes and 120 street cleaners to help keep things moving. I wonder whether these salt bins is how they're storing the extra 250 tonnes. Anyway, Southwark has 950 tonnes of salt at its depot and 300 streat cleaners to keep the streets moving. So I suspect the difference is Southwark have over twice the number of street cleaners to keep streets clear and rely on that rather than salt bins.

On reflection, although salt bins sound a great idea, Southwark has 340km of roads it maintains. So that's 680,000metres of pavements (ignoring estates pavements and roads, pedestrian only). Even a 1,000 salt bins ie. one every 680m (one every 1/2 mile) would'nt make much difference. It would sound good though.

Eitherway, its snowing now and its back to square one :(

[PeckhamRose]

Indeed it is snowing. Will some of this salt/sand be brought round to our streets tonight in time for tomorrow? I have rung the council myself, they said it would happen today.

[zephyr]

Limesford Road and other surrounding roads in Nunhead have been a skating rink but the gritter went up and down 3 times last night. It seemed to help a bit. I had already emptied a bag of dishwasher salt outside my house so that I could get my motorbike out this morning.

Generally the roads and pavement appear to be less gritted so far (personal observation) around East Dulwich and Nunhead. It just makes me very suspicious that the stocks of grit are not very high.

[Tarot]

What happened to all those metal boxes that used to be in every street, filled with grit and sand, for people to grit their streets with?Or is it a shame now that no one can be trusted not to thieve it?.

[lemonellen]

I've just called and put in a request for Melford Road, it was like an ice rink all weekend. Here's hoping!

[buggie]

Too little gritting and not in time for today across all of East Dulwich it seems.

Unable to get out of East Dulwich (at 1700) as roads like ice rinks. Told by the 40 bus driver parked up in Etherow Road that they've been he told to stop in Camberwell until the gritters have been out - he'd been on Lordship Lane when they'd radio'd and said how even with the handbrake on the bus had been slipping down the hill.

The roads are visibly solid ice - know the rain turned quickly to snow but surely the council had been watching weather reports and aware this was likely.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Please grit Adys Road - it's a rat run from Peckham to East Dulwich and has been an absolute nightmare this evening.

[PeckhamRose]

PGC my darlin' don't ask us! Ask 020 7525 2000 option 5. If everyone did this (and they HAVE to log those calls) then they'd realise they should have done something earlier. Maybe.