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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that the council should grit the pavements as well?

65 replies

IceyNicey · 26/01/2013 18:38

DP thinks AIBU.

We live in a cul de sac and tbf the road has been gritted (first time in years!) and we have been able to get in/out in the cars fine.

But the pavements are really bad everywhere, its really hard to walk safely. I saw council workers spreading grit on the pavements by the shops the other day but what about all of the rest of them? Everywhere is really hard to get around, people are falling over or having to walk in the road.

OP posts:

TapselteerieO · 26/01/2013 19:51

I was pleasantly surprised to see our pavements gritted when we had a bit of snow last week - they were icy before Christmas and we're not gritted then.

MousyMouse · 26/01/2013 19:53

yabu
imo the property occupiers should do the job.

TidyDancer · 26/01/2013 19:56

It's an unnecessary expense that the council shouldn't have to incur, when there are almost always people around who are capable of doing this themselves.

This is especially true of cul-de-sacs since they are not through roads that generate a lot of traffic/foot traffic from anyone other than those who live there. People need to start taking personal responsibility rather than just expecting the council to do it.

FryOneFatManic · 26/01/2013 19:58

Our council grit the pavements in town and the foot brdige going into town from our end, but they only grit the roads on the bus route on our estate, certainly not all roads.

We live on a cul de sac and have never been gritted. Our road leads to another, also not gritted. It's not until you leave that 2nd street that leads to the main road to get off the estate you see any sign of grit.

CremeEggThief · 26/01/2013 20:01

YANBU. 1.5 miles potentially four times a day is a nightmare! :(

manicinsomniac · 26/01/2013 20:06

I think YABU, the roads are more important and it seemed to be difficult enough for them to do that. It was a day before any snow ploughs or gritters reached the main roads through my village. The side roads were never done. To think that they could have done all the pavements to is ludicrous.

I wouldn't want to do it myself either. It's only ice, just be careful. Or walk in the road if you have a problem with slipping, it's much safer.

CaptChaos · 26/01/2013 20:15

Having lived in Germany we cleared the snow from our path and the pavement outside the house, we then put salt and grit that we had bought down.

Our bit of pavement then became an ice free oasis for people to stop and have a chat.

YABU to expect already cash strapped councils to grit pavements, when people who live in houses should be more than capable of doing it for themselves.

BumgrapesofWrath · 26/01/2013 20:19

YABU - you do know rock salt is a finite resource, don't you?

BoneyBackJefferson · 26/01/2013 20:22

gritting the pavements would just give you a false sense of security.

Blizzardofbuzzards · 26/01/2013 20:25

At what age/state of health/weakness would it be acceptable to say you shouldn't be expected to clear snow and ice?
I am in my early fifties. Even a couple of years ago I would have willingly tackled this job but I don't think I'd be up to it now with my various aches and pains.

Camwombat · 26/01/2013 20:30

In our village we have volunteer gritters. They go and grit the pavements of the main pedestrian routes through the village. They also shovel snow off the footpaths.

This is an initiative run by the county council who supply all the equipment.

We still have snow, ice and slush, but have pulled out my cat boots and my yaktrax and all is good.

yabu to expect a council to grit all th pavements, we cleared outside our house and our neighbours and put grit down.

manicinsomniac · 26/01/2013 20:40

Blizzardofbuzzards - I don't think anybody of any age/fitness can be expected to do it personally. I am 29 and perfectly healthy enough to have done it. But I had to get into school 2 hours early to shovel all the snow off those pathways, I work 50-70 hours a week, I'm out almost every evening, I don't own my house and we use it to sleep in and that's about it. I have no intention of taking responsbility for the bit of pavement that happens to outside it. We walk along it twice a day - carefully.

People are always going to have reasons not to do things that others think they should do.

IfNotNowThenWhen · 26/01/2013 20:43

I used to live in a country that had heavy snow every winter. If you didn't get outside with a shovel and shovel/grit your bit of the pavement you would be fucking ostracised.
I am astounded that here in the UK NO-ONE does this (except me!).
FFS don't expect the council to do it-get outside and do it yourself.
Loads of older people where I live are basically stranded cos of the sheer ice on the pavements(and I have slipped twice on my arse)
If everyone did their bit of the pavement-problem solved.

manicinsomniac · 26/01/2013 20:47

^^
that's crazy, there are huge swathes of pavements that are nobody's! (not that any of it actually belongs ot anybody)

I live on a cul de sac that leads onto the main road through the village. Everyone in our culdesac could, theoretically, clear the ice from the pavements. But then we'd get onto the main road where there are no houses for a good 250m or so. SO what would would be the point of clearing the cludesac?!

alistron1 · 26/01/2013 20:49

I've been ranting about this all week - it's all very well getting the roads moving but if people can't walk to/from bus stops, car parks etc what's the point? I have winter boots with fantastic grip, but some of the pavements I've encountered this week have been like polished glass. Especially those by schools.

BegoniaBampot · 26/01/2013 20:49

can't see how the council can get round to it all. It was treacherous here the other day, was at he doctors and all these old folk were struggling in who could hardly walk so it must have been really scary and dangerous for them. Really feel for those who are elderly and vulnerable. Maybe they should advertise for everyone to clear the path in front of their house.

flossieflower · 26/01/2013 20:52

My council HAVE both cleared and gritted the pavement outside my house (residential street).

Thank you Rutland Council!

EnjoyResponsibly · 26/01/2013 20:56

Yaktrax are the way forward.

Cheap as chips and very effective.

But there's sure to be a reason why wearing them won't suit everyone.

Blizzardofbuzzards · 26/01/2013 20:58

Not all houses have paths in front of them. What about flats? and the pavements that have no houses in front of them? In a lot of places this would just result in a chequered pattern of cleared and uncleared sections of pavement so not much improvement really.

ReallyTired · 26/01/2013 20:59

I have never heard of Yaktrax before and I have just googled them. I imagine that my dopey son would forget to take them off and trash the school floors.

The problem with Yaktrax is that when the snow has half thawed you can't use them. They will be damaged if you walk over hard concete or tarmac.

MousyMouse · 26/01/2013 21:00

blizzard you could employ a company to do it for you.
relatives in germany do just that. eithet they do it themselves or they pay for someone if they are not able to. simples.

manicinsomniac · 26/01/2013 21:18

not that simple mousy - many of those unable to do it would be the very same peole unable to afford to pay for it either.

bluer · 26/01/2013 21:18

No one can sue anyone whether pavement is cleared or not. You don't own the pavement therefore you're not legally responsible. That said dh and I Ste the only under fifties in our cul de sac and we're the only ones who bother to clear anything. I also do the wee granny who lives next to let's path.

discorabbit · 26/01/2013 21:22

agree with op, it would help if there were still gritting boxes about, they took lots away here!

seen lots of old ladies sliding about on the ice recently, don't think it's too much to at least put boxes about so the public can grit their own areas.

dp did see an old bloke a few steps ahead of his wife, gritting the pavement for her to walk on, v sweet

ouryve · 26/01/2013 21:26

Our council only manages to grit 46% of its roads. DS2 and I both have balance problems. We've managed fine over the past 2 weeks. I'm exhausted and very sore, but we're fine.

There's been days when the gritters have driven past our house every hour or two and only just kept the road clear for buses etc. The grit works best when it has the weight of vehicles grinding it in. All the same, on those days there were periods when the road was white. No way on earth would they be able to keep that up on the pavements and no way would it work when there's 4-6" of snow falling in a day. Councils are being expected by central government to make savings of tens and even hundreds of millions of pounds each over the next few years. They're hardly going to achieve that by throwing their already over strwetched resources into gritting pavements and roads that might be used b half a dozen people.

What our council does have is street wardens. They normally deal with antisocial behaviour, stray dogs, etc. They have been coming out and clearing paths from the aged miners' homes to the road. They will also do this for others who are elderly or disabled. Can't say fairer than that, really.

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