Did councils used to grit and clear pavements?

[Edewibs]

We live in London and its been icy all week. Pavements around us have slowly changed from snow to ice and are now really dangerous especially as we live on a major road and on a hill. Dod councils used to clear pavements or am I imagining it? I can't imagine using them if I was in any way frail or elderly

It may vary between places and how well-funded the council is but I don't think that happened where I live, other than in city centres. I think people might have used to clear the pavements outside their buildings of snow more, but without grit and salt that can cause a slip hazard worse than the snow, so it fell out of favour.

I am sure there used to be grit boxes, where you could take your own shovel across and do the pavements etc maybe 15 years ago? I haven't seen them for ages now, and it is very difficult. I would be happy to clear the area in front of my house but without salt and grit it's really hard to make it better.

Yes they did, and clear up leaves etc. I was told that there’s only one leaf clearer machine in my whole rural district when I asked why the leaves hadn’t been cleaned up in my town.

I've been in three different London boroughs this week and some areas are definite better than others. Very little is done where I live but elsewhere a side street where pavements were icy on Tuesday had been gritted and was clear by Thursday so some are being cleared.

In the current economic climate, I doubt if any council can afford to have a team of pavement gritters sitting around waiting for the odd couple of days per year when their services would be needed.

When I was a kid people used to clear the pavement outside their house, and get some grit from the box down the road.
Ive been on two car parks this week that were like skating rinks, one council owned. I’m surprised as they’d be liable to a claim.

So we will on a pretty big road so this wouldn't be a case of people taking shovels and clearing in front of their houses. It's genuinely dangerous. Because its quite high up, its not melting any time soon

I would be happy to clear the area in front of my house but without salt and grit it's really hard to make it better

some people on our street cleared the snow off the pavement outside their houses on Monday morning when it was soft. Those bits of pavement are absolutely fine to walk on, no grit or salt needed.

They didn't around here or In Hampstead Heath, I fell over yesterday it was like a skating rink.
Trying to save money no doubt. X

To be fair I don’t remember a time when we had snow in London that didn’t melt within 48 hours or so max before, or get replaced with fresh snow. I have never seen pavements like this before. It is absolutely lethal and there have been so many nasty accidents with people falling over. I have been mainly walking in the road when walking down side roads, but I’m reluctant to tell my 12 year old to do that and I do worry having just sent him off to school in this - could do without a broken bone for Christmas. Though of course much worse for the elderly and frail who are just totally housebound.

I suspect this is worse in London than it might be in some places as there is just such high population density and low car use that the snowy pavements just get walked on and walked on so many times that the ice gets compacted solid and polished! I will attach a picture from a day or two back. This is just about navigable but on hills it’s impossible

I can remember the pavements being treacherous with ice and snow in the eighties They definitely weren't cleared by our council.
Maybe some people cleared the bit of pavement outside their house and if enough neighbours did it it really helped keep pavements safe but it wasn't done by the council in our area

Well they have street sweepers and parks staff who do things like cutting grass, so would presumably be available during this weather when they can't do their usual tasks.

Luckily it’s going to start warming up tomorrow and the ice should be gone by the end of Sunday I reckon. I adore cold weather and snow and I have loved everything being so festive this week but the ice can do one!

There are quite a few grit boxes in my town and in my region.

I wonder if that's why they stopped the risk of claims etc, if they clear some but not all, then you could say you expected it to be clear, but if they clear none, then it's at own risk? Not sure if that makes sense?!

I've never known the council clear the pavements.
I have know people clearing the pavement outside their property. If everyone clears the 10m or so outside their house, you soon get clear pavements. It needs doing before too many people walk on it tho.

Of course they did! The yellow grit boxes

They did when I was a child but I haven't seen it done in decades. That is until this week when the council had gritted all pavements in the busineds park I work in. Shame I don't live in that council area as it's like Narnia here.

I grew up in London, I remember everyone in the street clearing the pavement outside their own house (and my parents tutting at anyone who let the street down by not doing their bit!).

The grit boxes are still there even though our council haven't done pavements for years and years though. Other than major ones. I think they are for the public to grit the pavement/road for them.

I live in a village in Kent. We have a grit box at the end of the road. The neighbours have been sprinkling grit and helping to shovel enough snow/ice to help each other get off the driveways but it's most still snow and ice on the road and paths.

I think it's one of the major benefits of living outside of London...we lived in London for ten years and our council didn't do anything much as far as I can tell. Now we live outside London and we get lovely things like all the leaves from our massive trees on the street are blown and cleared several times a year and our streets are gritted and flowers planted etc.

In the north many councils did grit roads and pavements including side roads in many places. But that was 15+ years ago. These days you are lucky if the can afford the grit, trucks and staff to do the main roads, and most of the grit bins are empty because people stole the grit to use on their drives and the council couldn't afford to refill them.

We have grit boxes and monthly road / pavement sweepers (including on residential streets and estates)

But they don't grit or clear snow from pavements in the winter

I'm in the SW

Oh I didn’t know that!
We lived on a steep hill when I was younger, and I remember my mum saying things like the ‘the council haven’t grit the road yet’ (otherwise we’d slide down the hill!). There was a yellow box at the bottom of the hill.