Councillor says Sheffield should be better prepared for snow, following First and Stagecoach bus disruptions

But how well does Sheffield cope when the snow hits the city?

With further flurries possibily still to come, Sheffield councillor Ruth Milsom thought more could have been done to stop the impact of the first snow of the winter last weekend.

Crookes ward councillor Ms Milsom and Minesh Parekh, who campaigns for Labour in the area, wrote to the bosses of both First and Stagecoach, after the 51 and 52 routes had to terminate at Brook Hill rather than managing to get out to Crookes and Crosspool or beyond.

In an open letter, shared on Twitter by Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake, they said they were concerned that there was not more forward planning, and asked bus chiefs what their contingency plans were.

They wrote to the companies: “Heavy snows are not that much of an irregular occurrence in this part of the country. Large bus operators such as yourselves should, we would hope, have contingency plans in place to adapt to heavy snowfall.”

They added: “We understand that unprecedented weather conditions pose challenges for drivers and as important as it is for Crookes and Crosspool residents to have access to regular services, the safety and wellbeing of drivers is paramount.”

Sheffield residents were split in their views of how the city copes.

Paul Fox, from Walkley, said: “On the face of it, it doesn’t cope with it very well. But the city, like everywhere else, has an impossible task with all the road traffic. For example, I live on a fairly steep hill which is accessible by bus, on the flat. The bus can’t reach my terminus when it snows, because all the selfish motorists from the hills around, park on the bus route. We have too many cars and we haven’t a good enough public transport system.”

Caroline Taylor, from Fulwood, said: “We seem to have problems as soon as we get the first flurry of snow. I don’t really know what the answer is to be truthful. In the outer lying areas, where the snow is usually heavier, everything really comes to a stop, but as for the city centre and everywhere, it’s difficult really, because sometimes you don’t get that much snow in the city centre area. But if it does then that can be difficult, especially for the workers and people who have got appointments. We really do come to a top fairly quickly.”

Fay Stone, from Wisewood, said she thought the city coped pretty well, and her street was gritted. She said: “We stop in and don't go out very much. Sometimes I clear it myself. We get a lot of traffic and that clears if off with the heat from the engines.”

Rose Hendrick, of Walkley Bank, said: “It's all right for the main roads but it's the side roads that are the trouble, especially where I live. It’s high up and they don’t always get to our road with gritters. But the main roads are all right. I think we have more trouble with the leaves – if they cleared them it would be better when it snowed."

She said people in her area still got out and gritted their own roads, because they had to.

Jamie Knowles, from Manor Top, said: “We don’t do very well, but I think we make the best of the situation. It did come down pretty fast so I think they did their best. The main road was all right, it was just the side roads weren’t very good. I think they did the best they could in the situation.”

Bus operator First explained the difficulties they had faced at the weekend.

A spokesperson said: ”The adverse weather that appeared at the weekend made driving of any vehicle challenging especially on side roads as it worsened over the two days. Our drivers did a fabulous job keeping buses operational for as long as they could until certain roads became unsafe to travel on.

“We resumed services as soon as road surfaces improved and I would like to thank all our customers for their kind messages of support and their understanding for the efforts our drivers put in to get people to their destinations safely over the weekend.”

Stagecoach declined to respond to the open letter, saying that First’s statement covered what it would have said.

Peter Hancock, principal operations Manager at Streets Ahead, revealed more than 1,500 tonnes of grit had been spread on the roads over the weekend white-out.

He said: “Storm Arwen brought snow, sleet, rain and wind to Sheffield over the weekend and our teams have worked around the clock to keep the roads moving safely in difficult conditions.

“This weekend alone, our teams completed 11 grit runs, spreading 1,529 tonnes of grit on priority routes and refilled over 200 grit bins to make sure communities could access supplies when they were needed the most.

“Our gritting programme covers a bigger percentage of roads than any other UK Local Authority and we have over 2,200 grit bins for the public to make use of when snow arrives.

“We focus on treating Priority One routes first of all, which include main roads that link to the motorway and other cities, as well as roads that provide access for emergency services, such as hospitals and fire stations. We then cover Priority Two routes, which include bus routes and roads providing access to key public services.

“Whilst our gritting routes cover around 60 per cent of the city’s roads, this does not guarantee that they will be completely free of ice and snow, particularly in the midst of a winter storm where conditions can be severe and unpredictable. Road users should always drive according to the conditions and journeys should only take place where safety is not compromised in bad weather.”