Dealing with the winter weather

A bit of a public service announcement, this posting, anticipating the heavy snow that is forecast for tonight. The map to the right (click to make bigger) shows the roads in the city that are gritted as a priority because they are major through routes and public transport corridors. From the Cotham perspective, that means :

• Whiteladies Road
• Redland Road/Hill
• Redland/Cotham Grove
• Hampton Road, Elgin Park & Chapel Green Lane
  
• Redland Park & Clyde Road
  
• Cotham Brow
  
• South Road

The purpose of these priorities is to make sure that the city can keep moving as best as possible. Once these areas are clear, other priorities like schools and older people's dwellings get seen to. Pavements on the main roads get gritted by the manual road cleaners on their normal rota.

There are frequent updates on a special page on the Council website, with details of changes to services and so forth. It's worth checking there for information if things are bad.

The Council is looking at ways to help residential areas get cleared if we have a sustained cold snap. The network of roadside grit bins (there are 600 in the city) is in the process of being refilled and I would be grateful to hear about any that are missing or empty - or suggestions for specific areas that could use one.

UPDATE: The Council website has a map of where the grit bins are, so you can find if there is one near you. Use the little zoom tool to focus in on the area you are interested in and they appear as little blue blobs.

There are a number of unhelpful rumours circulating about the danger of residents being sued if they take a lead in gritting or clearing their own road and someone falls over. These are usually framed as 'political correctness gone mad', but they are only urban myths. The Council is going to be working with the media in the coming days to reassure people that they are free to 'do their bit', just like I remember things being in my youth.