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

There are two grit bins on my estate. I was the first person to use either when I looked at them at 4pm on an icy/snowy Monday (I know, there was a thick hard layer at the top). No one else has gritted anything else. Several people asked me what I was doing and “oh I didn’t know we could use those”…

our main routes get done and the local councillor updates Facebook with details.

Like @Rollercoaster1920 the grit bin near us (essential for a crossroads that at least one car crashes at every winter) disappeared a few years ago, I’ve contacted our local councillor to no avail. Given many of the crashes take out one or more road signs, it seems a false economy.

DH and I clear and grit the pavement from our house to the main road (about two hundred metres) and do what we can with the crossroads. We used a tenner’s worth of grit the other day, but could have done with more for the road.

The idea that Tesco (or other large businesses) could avoid liability for slips and falls by not gritting (and/or that gritting exposes them to more liability) is a complete nonsense and has either been made up by an uninformed staff member or Tesco in house legal department need some training in Occupier’s Liability.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15441077/amp/Britain-high-alert-snow-ice-Storm-Goretti.html

Our roads are only gritted if it's a main road or a council funded bus route. I live in a village with no buses so we don't get gritted. We just have to learn very early on to drive carefully and hope for the best. There were 7 accidents due to ice this morning in the 2 miles between us and the main road. All were ok but 6 of those were people who had not long moved to the new build estate and weren't used to driving on ungritted roads.

I wonder what excuse was used for the previous council?

We drove behind a gritter a few days ago. There dont seem to be as many public grit boxes anymore though. Maybe thats the issue?

Glad to hear some places are still gritting

we don't have a lot of grit bins either.

That thing about taking liability is just mad

One of many bits of bureaucracy we need to get rid of.

I've noticed this too. In the last week,I have seen only one gritting lorry. What really annoys me though is the way that they put grit down right next to bus stops,but nothing on the paths leading up to the stop. I think that they are under the impression that we are teleported to the stop without actually having to walk on the paths that we use to get to the stop.

gritter went past about 5 minutes ago, not even a bus route. Pavements are only gritted on the high street

Yeah, they don't think at all about people who are walking

They definitely used to because while I used to drive, I've also spent years being a commuter and the roads to the station did use to get gritted.

in both my current place and my previous place, the roads to the station aren't residential. I think they just think enough people walk to the station that it'll be okay.
But the poor souls who have to go first!

Ours only do the main roads but I’ve seen them 2-3 times a day when the snow was at its worst.

No one does pavements but how about if people took responsibility and cleared snow/ice from outside their own house? It's a legal requirement in parts of Europe I think. We have a grit box on our street and people would rather struggle than get some grit and spread it on the pavement. They would let me do it for them tho.
Be hard to get grit put on the pavements and would be a huge cost. Are you willing to pay?

No gritters here on a main road, no grit bins either. A very snotty email from a local MP about how we should fund and fill our own grit bins if we're so bothered.

Our coincil is and we haven't even had snow 🤷🏼‍♀️

Our council are gritting the main roads, but they do have something on their social media pointing out that it’s forecast to rain, which will wash it all away and then freeze, making it really slippery, so people should be careful.

Gritters ruin the underside of your car.

It's the main roads that need gritting, so they allocate most grit to those roads. They can't grit private premises, because they're private for a reason; not under state control.

Round my way is an ice rink, too, but then we don't live on a major road. My DH and I said this morning to not go out anywhere unless necessary until it's thawed out (we're pretty careful on the ice, it's other people that we're concerned about).

I live just off priority roads. Fortunately, I'm at the end nearest the depot, so (along with having my bins emptied at about 5.10am) they always have plenty of grit when they go past the corner - and usually tosh a few spadefuls from the cab onto the slope that leads to my front door at some time between 8pm and 2am. I don't worry about the time they go by because it's staffed by the refuse workers who have already finished or are about to start their usual job as well.

Where I used to live was directly on a bus route and is on their plan as a priority road, but as we were right at the end/top of the hill, they'd always run out before they got all the way up - and the downhill (which was about 16 degrees, so pretty steep in icy conditions) was exempt, as was the even steeper hill walking down to the bus stops on the main road when the nearest service couldn't make it up towards my street; I think they decided this on the grounds that if the bus could make it up the hill, it didn't matter if it slid sideways into somebody's garden on the last bend. I don't think I ever used a footpath for the twenty-odd winters living there as a result - we always, always walked on the road.

They are gritting and salting here, but what has Tesco's car park got to do with the Council? Surely it is private land?

I live in a hilly area, and all the grit boxes are empty, and have been since I moved here 5 years ago. I cannot recollect any roads in this borough being gritted for about 25 years.

Mine are. I saw several gritters yesterday when I was out and about locally. Ours is a Conservative council btw.

If your grit bin is empty call your council and complain. It’s only when people take responsibility that anything changes.

Our council grits the roads and pavements. We're in a busy urban area so lots of cars and pedestrians. In quieter areas councils don't tend to, as not as many people will be using them and it's not cost efficient.

Our council don't even accept calls anymore. Everything is done through a hub. I registered for it and haven't ever received a password so can't log on. Their twitter doesn't reply to any queries.

Wouldn't know if they have here as the 2 leaking water pipes in the main road probably washed it all away even if they did.
They'd been leaking for at least 36 hours before anyone decided to do anything about it today. 1 down the high street and the other at quite a major road junction, how they're hasn't been any accidents I don't know.
These water companies are a joke.