Winter maintenance update 15/12/2017: Road and pavement treatment

15 December 2017

With further rain, sleet and freezing temperatures forecast for this evening (15 December), Aberdeen City Council crews will be working throughout the evening to continue to treat roads and paths.

Cllr Ross Grant, Aberdeen City Council’s transport and regeneration spokesperson, said: “Weather conditions continue to be challenging and Aberdeen City Council teams are working to the agreed winter maintenance programme.

“Despite the ongoing efforts, clearly there are areas in which paths and roads remain affected by snow and ice. We would urge road users and pedestrians to be cautious whilst these issues persist.

“Aberdeen City Council is responsible for a network of 560 miles of roads and 1,200 miles of paths and these are treated in accordance with agreed priorities. We were prepared for the freezing temperatures and have been working to those priorities.

“We are receiving a high volume of enquiries, requests and complaints in relation to roads and pavements and it is not possible to respond immediately to all of those individually.

“It should be emphasised that the winter maintenance budget for 2017/18 was increased from the previous year, to enable salt stocks to be increased, and there has been no reduction in the number of assets being deployed.

“Today we have 15 gritters treating carriageways, 17 mini-tractors on footways across the city being serviced by a further five pick-ups providing salt. There are also two drivers working to distribute salt across the city and three dedicated to salting areas as directed, in addition to 34 grounds maintenance staff who are assisting with treating paths using 15 pick-ups. We are working to ensure grit bins in communities are filled regularly.

“With rain, sleet and freezing temperatures forecast for this evening (15 December) we are deploying crews to treat priority routes this afternoon, through the night and into Saturday morning. It is a comprehensive operation but we understand the frustrations being expressed by members of the public.

“I must place on record my thanks to all of the willing residents in communities throughout the city who have been keen to help and have contributed to the effort in their area, as well as to all of the Council crews who are working around the clock.”

In response to a number of enquiries in relation to school access, we can clarify that each school has a responsibility to clear one priority path into the building. Additional routes will be cleared at the discretion of individual schools. The treatment/clearing of playgrounds is also assessed locally by schools and access restricted if areas are not deemed safe.