Why are councils not gritting roads or pavements

[Springswallow]

I remember in the 70s seeing the gritter out at the first sniff of snow or ice
Every time I've gone out the last few days someone has slipped over
Twice an ambulance was called to local Tesco , because someone slipped over and hurt themselves
Tesco customer service told me ,it's their policy to not grit Tesco paths or roads , because that means they are taking responsibility,and if someone slips they could sue them ..
But our town is an ice rink as well ,so the council are not gritting either
Madness

Roads get gritted around here, pavements don't, but I'm more pissed off that the pavements never get the wet leaves cleared in the autumn, leaving them slippery as hell, although the roads seem to get swept. I thought we were supposed to be promoting walking?

We do the pavement round us as we have a grit bin a few doors up and we’re the youngest people on our stretch of the street so most able. Mind you, there’s one selfish twat a bit further up who pinches the grit for his four-car drive. Which it’s absolutely not intended for. Grrr.

People want to pay council tax a rate that keeps up with the costs, so the services get reduced.

In the past when there was snow and ice I would clear a strip of pavement along the front of my wall and put salt down. People could then choose to walk on the cleared path or the snow and ice. I would do my elderly next door neighbours too. But nobody else did their bit, so I stopped. Everyone cleared a path from their gate to their car parked on the street, though.

Aldi carpark did theirs morrisons did not guess whose carpark nearly had a smash

Given the comments on what I think is an urban myth about not clearing the car parks I have no idea

Customer service also told me they don’t do exchanges in clothes only refund and buy a replacement. I went to another store who did the exchange.

Gritters out in force here in the West Country.

I don’t understand why choosing deliberately not to grit is any better for a store, as at least if they had made an effort, they could not be accused of not considering the health and safety not only of their employees but others eg the public. At the very least, they should be considering their employees who presumably also use the car park etc.

I heard someone being interviewed last night . The weather has been quite extreme . They have to prioritise the main roads - enables essential supplies getting in eg food to supermarkets etc .

They then prioritise public transport routes eg bus routes again to allow those who need to get to work to go eg essential workers , people to get essential supplies . Won’t cover everyone and obviously there is a risk of falls by those just getting to the bus / place of work etc .

They don’t have gritters on the go 24/7 / , as those driving them have to sleep / rest .

They will contract out eg to private companies to assist but obviously budget / availability is an issue .

I don’t think we have the infrastructure to deal with the extreme weather we have had . Whilst I think we can compare to other countries eg in Scandinavia , this style of weather isn’t extreme but routine for them and they need to put in the infrastructure to deal with it .

They don’t have a blanket policy of not gritting minor roads etc but it isn’t the top priority for them .

Not ideal and people who need to go out will be at risk of falls.

You can use this tool @Springswallow to see what roads your council will grit: https://www.gov.uk/roads-council-will-grit

It was bad this morning

Ours grits main routes then secondary. Never done paths in either area i’ve lived in. As someone who gets buses/walks everywhere i’m well aware: often end up walking in the road when it’s icy. Doesn’t provide grit bins either.

They didn’t sweep up any autumn leaf fall on pavements either.
I’ve only seen grit on the park paths.

Morrisons had a wonderful slip and slide someone reverse parking fast carried on going tried to pull forward for another go slide again gave up as they were in a parking space pretty much anyway 🤣

There never is a good place to cut back though, is there? On another thread, there are dozens loudly proclaiming to be very happy for us to fund 24hr Met Police protection for Prince Harry despite intelligence officers saying he is not at enough risk to warrant it. There aren't enough places at special schools, the roads aren't being gritted, the doctors keep striking.
On the one hand, the most astonishing largesse with our money; on the other, barely a pot to piss in.

Dunno why people just don't glue grit to the soles of their shoes.

Lazy, entitled swines expect everything handed to them on a plate these days.

I would argue they own the land and have opened the store so have some degree of liability to try to keep people, including their staff, safe!

After all they dont leave milk spills in store do they? They mop up and put out signs until its dry.

I live just outside Glasgow (not Glasgow City Council) and I haven't seen one gritter or any grit. I live on a huge, long street with one end that's a pretty steep hill and the amount of cars I've seen struggling is ridiculous. We also get really bad black ice every winter so it's horrible trying to navigate from a to b. I went to the grit bin last week to see if I could fill a bucket and it doesn't look like there's been grit in it for a long, long time. Full of rubbish and muck!

Sunderland is terrible. Spent all the money on their fireworks by the looks of it

I went to get grit from the grit bin to sort the ice rink road outside our local school. The grit bin has gone! Checked on the council website and they no longer list it as a location. The road was on teh grit route, but hadn't been done this week (it's not a main road, but it is a school street and one known for ice problems due to shade from the school!

In Kent and all main roads are gritted the same as every other year. Main roads through estates in my town are gritted as well. The only roads that aren't are the small side roads. There are salt bins in the area where I live for people to grit paths and side roads themselves.

Major roads, motorways and bus routes (I believe) are gritted here but no private land and definitely no footpaths unless some of the grit happens to splash from the road across them. ☹️ I'm in Essex.

Supermarket car parks are very often their own private land so it is up to them whether to clear and grit it or not, nothing to do with the council. Our local Tesco does seem to do the job, and pretty well too.

I do wish the councils would grit footpaths, as they are often treacherous and walking in the road feels easier and safer, though probably isn't. Sadly though, it is wishful thinking and is pie in the sky.

Lack of priorities. 🙄

Money.

Glad to say now that the nasty wing of the Tory party are no longer in control of my local Council, pavement gritting has taken place.