Sheffield City Council trialling new small gritter to improve safety on city centre pavements
Sheffield Council is to trial a new gritter on the the main pedestrian routes from the train station and around the city centre in an attempt to make travel safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
A number of collision have been reported across Sheffield today after an overnight cold snap brough treacherous ice to the streets.
Vehicles have lost control, while pedestrians have struggled to stay on their feet as they navigate the slippery, black ice covered footpaths.
However, Sheffield City Council has
assured residents that they are managing the situation with regular gritting on so-called ‘priority routes’.
“There are now five weather stations across the city which we monitor closely during cold weather spells and officers get regular forecast updates throughout the day,” a council spokesperson told The Star.
Gritting teams, which work as part of the council’s Streets Ahead department, work between October 1 and April 30 each year and use these forecasts to inform their activities.
Around 60 per cent of Sheffield’s roads are gritted, with ‘priority one routes’ covering major streets like the ring road, Derek Dooley Way, Sheffield Parkway and Penistone Road.
Completely gritting these high importance routes takes around three hours.
Meanwhile, ‘priority two routes’ cover other main roads, rural roads and streets near public services, and take five and a half hours to cover.
A council spokesperson explained: “Gritters are usually on the roads before the temperatures dip as the salt needs time to create a debonding layer with the road surface in order to create a layer of brine which helps to stop the ice forming.
“A lot of our gritting activity takes place overnight and in the early hours of the morning and staff are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
With more bad weather expected over the coming days, as the Met Office put a yellow snow warning over Sheffield, the council is also trialling new tactics to help people in the city.
A small gritter will cover the main pedestrian routes from the train station and around the city centre in an attempt to make travel safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
Still, while these efforts hope to curb dangers to the public, sub-zero temperatures can still present a number of hazards for members of the public.
“We would encourage people to keep an eye on the weather forecast and prepare for the icy conditions,” the council added.
“If people need to drive, they need to make sure their cars are prepared and allow extra time for travelling.”