Aberdeen has more than 1,200 miles of pavements - the same as the distance from Aberdeen to Rome. It is not possible to grit every pavement all the time, so we have a priority system.
Priority 1 pavements
These are mainly in the city centre and highly used by pedestrians. There are two routes: see the pavement gritting routes in the city centre. We grit these early in the morning from 5:15am to make sure they are salted before rush hour.
Pavements in the rest of the city (priority 2 gritting)
The rest of the city is split into 24 areas and we treat these on an area by area basis.
We give priority to pavements near Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, near schools where possible, sheltered housing and social work properties, the crematorium, shopping centres, and access to facilities in parks and gardens.
We treat these pavements from 7.45am usually on an area basis.
The following streets are prioritised once commencement of the priority two streets begins.
Bucksburn
- Kepplehills Road
- Sclattie Park
- Sclattie Circle
- Hopetoun Grange
- Howes View
- Bankhead Road
- Oldmeldrum Road
Dyce
- Victoria Street (Riverview Dr to Gladstone Pl)
- Dyce Shopping Centre
Bridge of Don
- Newburgh Road
- Jesmond Drive (Middleton Rd to Whitestripes Way)
- Braehead Way
- Bodachra Road
- Harehill Road
- Cairnfold Road
- Danestone Terrace
- Scotstown Gardens
- Ellon Road (Bridge of Don to Broadfold Road)
Northfield
- Lintmill Terrace
- Quarry Road (at shops)
- Byron Avenue (at shops)
- Moir Green (at shops)
Seaton/Tillydrone
- King Street (School Road to High Flats)
- School Road
- Tillydrone Avenue
- Tillydrone Terrace
- Wingate Road
- Dempsey Terrace
- Coningham Gardens
Mastrick
- Greenfern Road (at shops)
Cornhill/Cairncry
- Cornhill Road (Ashgrove Rd to Westburn Rd)
- Berryden Road
- Rosehill Drive (at shops)
St Clements
- Boulevard (Roundabout to Railway Bridge)
Woodend/Summerhill
- Eday Drive
- Eday Road (Eday Dr to Stronsay Dr)
- Summerhill Shopping Centre
Hazlehead / Braeside
Countesswells Road (at shops)
Springfield Road (Countesswells to Airyhall)
Great Western Road (Morningside Rd to South Anderson Drive)
Ferryhill
- South Crown Street
- Albury Place
Torry
- Menzies Road (at shops corner of Grampian Place and Victoria Rd end)
- Grampian Place (Menzies Rd to Walker Rd)
- Victoria Road (Menzies Rd to Mansfield Rd)
- Mansfield Road
- Glenbervie Road
- Abbey Place
- Rockall Road
- Ladywell Place
- Brimmond Place
- Battock Place
- Oscar Place
Mannofield/Garthdee
- Morrison Drive
- Ivanhoe Walk
- Talisman Walk
- Deeside Gardens
- Deeside Drive
- Deeside Crescent
Cults/Bieldside
- Abbotshall Road
- Kirk Brae
- North Deeside Road (South Avenue to Cults Hotel)
- Cults Avenue
- Hillview Crescent
- Quarry Road
- Cairn Road
- Baillieswells Road
- North Deeside Road (at Bieldside Shops)
Milltimber
- Contlaw Brae
- Monearn Gardens
Peterculter
- Malcolm Road North
- Deeside Road (Malcolm Rd to Cairn Rd)
- School Road
- Towerview Road
- Coronation Road
- Cairn Road
Gritting cycle paths
We treat cycle paths in the same way as pavements in the rest of the city. We grit them from 7.45am on an area basis. They are
* The Westhill path (from city boundary to Hazlehead roundabout);
* The Shell path cycle paths along Stoneywood Road (section of National Cycle Network);
* Cove Road to Duthie Park where cycleway is part of a shared footpath;
* Wellheads Drive cycle path where cycleway is part of a shared footpath;
* Cycle paths along Wellington Road where cycleway is part of a shared footpath.
The public clearing snow and ice from pavements and roads
When there’s bad weather, we are continuously gritting primary and secondary roads and priority 1 and priority 2 pavements so it is very unlikely we will be able to grit other areas such as cul-de-sacs or residential streets. We provide one-tonne community salt bags, and 20 big community salt bins for residents to use along with grit bins around the city. Please only use the salt from these on public roads and pavements, not on your own path or driveway.
It is unlikely that you would be sued or held responsible if someone is injured on a path or pavement provided you have acted carefully and responsibly when treating the area. This would most probably only become an issue if your actions had made the situation worse and not better. For example, were you to use hot water to remove snow or ice, this could refreeze and create an ice hazard.
It is highly improbable that you would make any situation worse by using salt. If you are concerned about making a situation worse, please consider the following points:
- Have I created a new hazard – so long as your actions have not created a hazard that was not there prior, you should be OK
- Don’t use water – it might refreeze and turn to ice
- Use salt if possible – it will melt the ice and will reduce the risk of it refreezing overnight
- You can use ash and sand if you don’t have enough salt – it will provide grip underfoot
- Pay extra attention when clearing steps and steep pathways – using more salt may help
- When clearing snow, consider where you move it to – try to avoid creating potential trip hazards with cleared snow
- If by clearing snow you have exposed ice underneath, treat this with salt to melt it.
Find out where your nearest grit in is at find your nearest grit bin and your nearest community salt bin.
You can also apply for a free one-tonne salt bags. The application process and salt bag deliveries are usually in October/November every year.