Council Thanks Residents For Gritting Pavements

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As salt bins refilled and streets gritted

The council wants to thank residents across the borough who have been helping their communities by gritting pavements and footpaths around their homes using grit from the network of salt bins.

As well as treating roads across Wandsworth, the authority’s gritting crews have been routinely refilling all of the salt bins – with each one containing about one tonne of grit. Each bin has already been refilled at least once since the snowy spell began last Friday.

This has made it possible for residents to grit their front garden path and the pavement outside their home, and help others in their neighbourhoods – especially the elderly and disabled, or those with young children who might otherwise find it hazardous to venture outdoors in a cold snap.

Last year, Wandsworth Council expanded the number of salt bins across the borough so that members of the public had an immediate stock of grit close at hand should they need it.

There are now 56 of these salt bins located around the borough, situated mainly in elevated and hilly areas where icy pavements can be particularly treacherous. The council will continue to refill the bins, with officers keeping a note of which bins are being used the most.

Wandsworth’s transport spokesman, Councillor Russell King, said:
“In addition to thanking our gritting teams for their hard work, I would also like to thank the many residents who have pitched in by using the salt we have provided to treat parts of their neighbourhood.

“Our crews do their best to grit entrances outside tube and railway stations, hospitals, OAP day centres, schools, care homes, clinics and nurseries, but with 360km of roads and 732km of pavements and footpaths in the borough getting everywhere is an incredible challenge. Therefore, it is heartening to see residents taking the time to help grit pathways and pavements where they live.”

The council's gritting crews will continue working throughout the current cold snap – with more snow being forecast later today.

The borough's network of main roads is treated as a priority so that the emergency services and public transport can keep running. Smaller residential roads will also be gritted in an established pattern.

Transport for London has its own gritting operation, which is responsible for red route roads and pavements, such as the main route through Wandsworth town centre.

Find your nearest salt bin here –

January 23, 2013