Gritting the foopaths

Dan Dare

Why did Cork City Council not grit the footpaths- their condition over the past few days was an absolute disgrace.

Max001

Dan Dare wrote: »

Why did Cork City Council not grit the footpaths- their condition over the past few days was an absolute disgrace.

Cause thinking of that requires some common sense?

craichoe

Because all of the grit was allocated to dangerous areas such as roads for cars/buses/trucks etc.

Same all across Europe afaik.

Dan Dare

craichoe wrote: »

Because all of the grit was allocated to dangerous areas such as roads for cars/buses/trucks etc.

Same all across Europe afaik.

No so. In London the footpaths were gritted when the conditions were icy.

FunkyMissMonkey

craichoe wrote: »

Because all of the grit was allocated to dangerous areas such as roads for cars/buses/trucks etc.

Same all across Europe afaik.

That would make sense, had I seen any grit at all on the roads over the past week. Have been at work all over the holidays, and no grit to be found anywhere!

cork1

i heard from a Co. Council Worker that there is no grit left in their yards!!

raah!

We wouldn't be able to slide on them then! They were sparkling and everything... maybe if you are just careful when you walk on them.

Buceph

People have been seriously injured by the lack of gritting. I've heard that the Regional has run out of pins to put into peoples broken bones and have had to delay a load of surgeries until the get. The amount of people falling over, despite being careful is huge. I'd say there's at least one slightly injured person per family, and a couple of fallers.

Hogzy

Buceph wrote: »

I'd say there's at least one slightly injured person per family.

Id say ur way off tbh... I dont know ANYONE who has been injured by ice

BanzaiBk

Hogzy wrote: »

Id say ur way off tbh...

62 people for ortho emergency surg on Thursday, 51 on Friday, 38 Saturday. Don't remember Sunday numbers.

RE: Buceph, false information regarding pins. Just an inordinate number of people requiring emergency repair.

People took too many ridiculous risks these past few days.

colblimp

BanzaiBk wrote: »

People took too many ridiculous risks these past few days.

But if the council had gritted the roads and paths, like it's supposed to...

I find it incredible that when the country experiences a bit of frost, it all falls to pieces. Imagine if, God forbid, some snow had fallen?! :eek: Ireland would have come to a standstill! :rolleyes: Other countries get weather much, much worse than we do and they just get on with it - why can't Ireland cope?

Hogzy

Seems like all Ireland can cope with is mild rain,

Too much rain and half the country floods
Too much cold and people dont realise how slow to drive/walk etc
Too much heat and...well its just too hot for their liking and people start to internally combust...

We are all crazy

Oafley Jones

Buceph wrote: »

People have been seriously injured by the lack of gritting. I've heard that the Regional has run out of pins to put into peoples broken bones and have had to delay a load of surgeries until the get. The amount of people falling over, despite being careful is huge. I'd say there's at least one slightly injured person per family, and a couple of fallers.

The Regional really needs to be properly gritting their own paths, particularly around the Bishopstown Avenue exit. Second year in a row I've seen an old lady take a serious hopper coming up to the gate. The whole of the Model Farm Road was treacherous, ending up walking on the roads it was so bad. Out of interest is anyone liable for falls on public footpaths or is it just tough luck?

leahyl

colblimp wrote: »

But if the council had gritted the roads and paths, like it's supposed to...

I find it incredible that when the country experiences a bit of frost, it all falls to pieces. Imagine if, God forbid, some snow had fallen?! :eek: Ireland would have come to a standstill! :rolleyes: Other countries get weather much, much worse than we do and they just get on with it - why can't Ireland cope?

we could be looking at snow in the next few days:eek:! Think of the devastation! We'll all be imprisoned in our houses!

parsi

colblimp wrote: »

But if the council had gritted the roads and paths, like it's supposed to...?

What about people looking out the window and making an educated decision not to go out ?

Or do what we did and bring along a tub of salt for particularly dodgy bits ?

Or perhaps shops and homes could grit the bits outside their own property rather than waiting for someone else to do it ..

Sometimes we have to take some responsibility.

parsi

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Out of interest is anyone liable for falls on public footpaths or is it just tough luck?

It depends I'd imagine.

A fall based on "normal" freezing would be tough-luck but I notice near here that there's a house which has a dripping overflow which is running onto the path/road and freezing (and this caused a lot of skids last week). In this case if you had a good lawyer I'm sure you could start proceedings.

Dan Dare

According to RTE Radio this morning, CUH have dealt with an average of 44 cases of people falling on ice each day since Christmas Eve, it might have been useful of RTE to tell us what the statistics were for the last couple of Christmas's as well.

Is it a lack of salt for gritting or is it a lack of funds to pay the overtime?

Another balls-up!

rebel girl 15

Dan Dare wrote: »

Is it a lack of salt for gritting or is it a lack of funds to pay the overtime?

Bit of column A and bit of column B - this is from this mornings Examiner


CASH-STRAPPED local authorities are in dire need of funding to grit dangerous roads as the big freeze yesterday claimed another life and left many seriously injured.

As forecasters predict icy conditions will continue for at least another week, Fine Gael warned that the Government had to tackle the problem as a matter of urgency.

The party’s road safety spokesman, Shane McEntee, claimed councils were not adequately gritting roads because they had run out of money.

He said it simply wasn’t good enough for the Government to ignore the problem and emergency resources were needed before more families were devastated by road tragedies.

"Treacherous roads have already claimed lives at the weekend and this will continue to be a threat as long as severe weather conditions prevail," the TD said.

"Despite the ongoing warnings of bad weather, local councils are not managing to do their jobs in making icy roads safe for motorists.

"This seems to be because funding has run out at a time when it is critical that councils have the resources to put in place essential road safety measures during adverse weather conditions, like the gritting of roads."

The AA’s Conor Faughnan backed his claims and said it had received reports from gardaí yesterday that some main roads had not been gritted. This, he said, was of "serious concern".

Mr Faughnan said there was no excuse for a fundamental safety precaution such as gritting not to be carried out adequately when ice had been forecast.

"Motorists have been well prepared thanks to Met Éireann and the AA but it is very difficult to believe that salt or sand to make roads safe has run out," he said.

Mr Faughnan said the matter was one the AA would be following up in the new year.

Meanwhile, Cork county manager Martin Riordan said his overtime budget had been cut by 50% and, consequently, resulted in a major curtailment of gritting on secondary roads.

Mr Riordan said he expects to have to implement even further cutbacks on the overtime budget next year which would have an even bigger impact if there was a prolonged period of severe weather.

It also emerged yesterday that council bosses in Galway had run out of salt and grit and workmen were concentrating on primary roads in a bid to make supplies go further.

Former mayor of Galway, Cllr Donal Lyons, said he was inundated with complaints, especially from residents in housing estates after the city council ran out of funding and concentrated their supplies on the main roads.

"Money is very tight but we have to ensure our roads are safe," added Mr Lyons.

A spokesman for Dublin City Council said gritting teams were in place and the work was being carried out in accordance with the severity of the ice.

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/home/motorists-lives-at-risk-because-councils-cant-afford-to-grit-roads-108623.html#ixzz0b5jLOsNv

BanzaiBk

52 for ortho surg again yesterday. About 242 estimated fractures since last Wednesday citywide.

rebel girl 15

BanzaiBk wrote: »

52 for ortho surg again yesterday. About 242 estimated fractures since last Wednesday citywide.

I'm not surprised at the high number - before Christmas, I was walking across the road outside UCC, presuming because it was the road I'd be safe from falling - no! Slipped and slided across, but did not fall Its too dangerous for people to be out, they need to stay in and only travel if necessary, i.e. to work

fastrac

With the slow down in the building im surprised that some enterprising builders dont get a load of grit and offer a private gritting service to businesses and estates.It looks like we can no longer depend on the government to look after us.It could be a nice little tax free earner for anybody who does it and more luck to them

parsi

BanzaiBk wrote: »

52 for ortho surg again yesterday. About 242 estimated fractures since last Wednesday citywide.

I'd also like to know the number of injuries/incidents related to alcohol consumption.

Can these be published ?

BanzaiBk

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

Its too dangerous for people to be out, they need to stay in and only travel if necessary, i.e. to work

Exactly! A lot of accidents could have been avoided!

fastrac wrote: »

With the slow down in the building im surprised that some enterprising builders dont get a load of grit and offer a private gritting service to businesses and estates...

The building contractors who are refurbishing the Western Gateway Building offered and gave or sold (I don't know if money changed hands) grit to the council.

parsi wrote: »

I'd also like to know the number of injuries/incidents related to alcohol consumption.

Can these be published ?

They can be published fine (under the Freedom of Information act) but it would be a while before those kinda figures came out. Certainly it was clear on Christmas Eve and the night before that a large number of incidents were fueled by alcohol.

Cian92

I can see the problem for the elderly, but really everyone else could buy their own tub of salt for the footpaths. Its also annoying that people complain about the entrances to their estates not being gritted, they can surely grit it themselves. My own road was completely impasable in one spot and there were 5 accidents, around twenty of us got out and gritted the road ourselves. Get over it, my road should be gritted well before your fecking footpaths!

BanzaiBk

Mhmm ourselves and the neighbours gritted the road and the incline at the end everyday for 4 days. Saw most people doing the same in the suburbs.

Dan Dare

Alcohol may or may not have played a part in the number of injuries suffered by pedestrians.

Yes people ought to be responsible for gritting outside their houses.

But the fact remains that Cork City Council did little or nothing to keep the city safe over the last week.

I overheard a woman yesterday (Tuesday) say that she did not dare leave her house since Christmas Eve until yesterday.

discostu1

When we were kids I remember our mam gritting the paths with ash and clinker from the fire, myself and some neighbours did the same, we hadnt huge amounts what with central heating but it certainly helped. I gather the next few days is supposed to be worse

maglite

Discostu your not suggesting illegally dumping your left over waste incineration on a public high way:eek::eek::eek::D

As for the people who say no one has fallen, I fell and have had a sore knee for most of a week. I view this as my own fault it was ice and I slipped. I do think there could have been better choice of which foot paths were gritted but I could have detoured around on paths that were gritted.

I see more of a problem with people who had water running out of their drives freezing and not taking care of it.

For those interested in personal responsibility Kartolla Microspikes, Petzel Spikys, Yaktrax Pro traction

Paul91

maglite wrote: »

For those interested in personal responsibility Kartolla Microspikes, Petzel Spikys, Yaktrax Pro traction

http://www.climbers-shop.com/246638/products/Kahtoola_Microspikes.aspx?utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=PriceComp&utm_term=Froogle&utm_content=None&utm_campaign=PriceComp1

http://www.petzl.com/en/pro/verticality/packs-and-accessories/accessories/spiky-plus

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B001CZJBKC/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0


cheers for this - will come in usefull when out with the dogs, was considering a sled or skies also if you don't mind might post this up in the animal threads

Dan Dare

On Christmas Eve (mid-morning) I walked from Blackpool into the city centre. Six times my feet went from under me, mercifully, I managed to regain my balance each time. I was walking on busy streets, not backstreets, and I was stone cold sober.

discostu1

Discostu your not suggesting illegally dumping your left over waste incineration on a public high way

Not just suggesting it , advocating it, it helped get me out of my drive and several neighbours, some of whom are medical staff to work. Funnily with the rain the ash just seemed to disappear.Given the forecast and I agree you should only travel if necessary but some people HAVE to get to work, my motto would be whatever it takes

The Pontiac

I nearly slipped a few times myself. I was well prepared for the fall though, it's just the embarrassment of it. I can imagine if an older person fell they might be badly injured alright.

I saw a person jogging on one of the very frosty mornings before Christmas - this was 8am and it was absolutely lethal - I was struggling to keep the car on the road. I've no idea how she kept on her feet.

BanzaiBk

discostu1 wrote: »

When we were kids I remember our mam gritting the paths with ash and clinker from the fire,

The ashes really work well and spread out nicely. Most people with fires around where I live were spreading it on their paths and driveways.

parsi

maglite wrote: »

For those interested in personal responsibility Kartolla Microspikes, Petzel Spikys, Yaktrax Pro traction

I'd seen the Spikys demoed on German TV and they looked good.

Thanks for the tip about the ashes as well - now we've justification for not clearing out the fireplace.

parsi

A thought just struck me - if they reduced the Mayor's astronomical salary that would pay for a lot of overtime.

maglite

Just another note, mahers outdoors had the spikys. I'm sure they and other outdoor shops that carry petzl stuff can order them in..

BanzaiBk

maglite wrote: »

Just another note, mahers outdoors had the spikys. I'm sure they and other outdoor shops that carry petzl stuff can order them in..

How much are they?

maglite

€25ish

Flesh Gorden

Worst I've seen is outside the mothers house in Mayfield

one of the driveways crumbled and ended up with mains water leaking onto the road creating an ice slick around 2 inches deep in parts


I took pictures and emailed it off to most email address at city hall, I got a reply but still nothing done about it.
Ice has melted since but haven't checked to see if they at least shut off the water


Seen a few people lose control on it but most where young learners in small cars who looked like they panicked a bit.
Biggest idiot had to be the lady from a pet shop delivering a dog house,
I could see a flat spot on her front tyre and unsurprisingly she had a very hard time even crawling up the park.

It's crazy how people don't have a clue about safety in this kind of weather

whether it be the right footwear or more importantly maintain their tyres and keeping the right pressures

I've been driving everyday since the cold snap hit and haven't had any twitches or skids
and that's in an older car with no ABS ESP or any traction control devices other then my own feet.

rebel girl 15

Flesh Gorden wrote: »

Worst I've seen is outside the mothers house in Mayfield

I took pictures and emailed it off to most email address at city hall, I got a reply but still nothing done about it.
Ice has melted since but haven't checked to see if they at least shut off the water


Seen a few people lose control on it but most where young learners in small cars who looked like they panicked a bit.

It's crazy how people don't have a clue about safety in this kind of weather

whether it be the right footwear or more importantly maintain their tyres and keeping the right pressures

People seem to panic in these cold conditions and have no idea how to drive in them or walk in them. Should something be introduced about driving with ice, because it seems that the weather will be this bad from now on in winter (global warming etc)

Would it be possible for you to post one or two of those photos you took, sounds interesting to see?

Flesh Gorden

first pic is the driveway, you can see the water flowing onto the road
and the damaged part that it's leaking from




Pic 2 - normally the road is flat , top right where a car was parked
you can see the difference in height between the ice and the unfrozen part



Pic 3



All solid ice apart from the part people drove through

BanzaiBk

I knew I had an idea of where you were talking about Flesh. Place looked LETHAL for days. Good job on emailing those pix off.

parsi

I was watching the RBB Berlin Abendschau this evening and after the snowfall of the past few days it seems that many Berlin footpaths haven't been gritted either (as was the case when I lived there).

Dan Dare

Footpaths from city centre to Blackpool are very icy again, despite the thaw this morning.:mad:

BanzaiBk

The northside is like an ice rink. Be mindful of the Banduff Road - the river of water from the drains has completely iced over making the incline at either exits extremely dangerous.

taram

Walking from the train station entrance into town, saw a man slide on the incline there on the path before the tile places, he slid down the slope about 2 meters at the end, then crashed onto his face on the road, no control over his actions! Very scary. I just about managed to pick my way down that slope, couldn't walk on the road either because the drainage there meant there was ice all along the side V. scary!

Plenty of places where there's no ice, then there's somewhere shadowed and there's a deadly patch, had my heart in my mouth all the way home today, was convinced I was going to break my arm.

Worst place I've seen (and slid on!) is the hill in Cobh from the main town up towards the cathedral by the train station side by the Burma (if that makes sense ), it doesn't seem to have defrosted since the cold snap started, the left hand side part today was so icy saw a dog step on it just across from where the steps start, and he slid all the way down around the corner!!

Chatelaine

St Vincent's Bridge, at the top end of the North Mall, has been gritted and salted every day. Which is no use to me, as I don't have to cross it to go to work!

I've nearly nodded my head off at the comments about people taking more care when they're out and about in this weather - should have thought it was common sense, really. . . :-)

NoDice

I've been so grateful that bridge has been gritted! It's so icy and it's a slight slope so you'd go flying! I've to cross it every morning before eight like, it's freezing!

I think the barriers by the river on the North Mall are just not safe enough at all! There's ice all along the path and I was thinking the whole time "don't slip, walk slowly be acreful or you'll go right into the river". And just as I was thinking it I took a hopper and had to grab onto the railing, my leg went under the bottom one!! Never walking on that side of the road again!!

Up by Sunday's Well too has been shocking. There is absolutely nothing to hold onto and nothing up there has been gritted. For anyone not familiar with the hill - Think Patricks hill but a little narrower as a street. There's so many elderly people living around there, dunno how they're coping.

CamperMan

this useless ****in government thought they were smart saving money by not gritting the roads/pavements as often as they should have done... I would like to see what the cost to the HSE is now with so many people injured by slipping on the ice..., I broke my ankle and needed surgery due to slipping on the ice!

I reckon it would have been cheaper to ensure the gritters were out!!

Chatelaine

NoDice wrote: »

I think the barriers by the river on the North Mall are just not safe enough at all! There's ice all along the path and I was thinking the whole time "don't slip, walk slowly be acreful or you'll go right into the river". And just as I was thinking it I took a hopper and had to grab onto the railing, my leg went under the bottom one!! Never walking on that side of the road again!!

Up by Sunday's Well too has been shocking. There is absolutely nothing to hold onto and nothing up there has been gritted.

The barriers on the North Mall are way too low to be safe in this weather - when the Corporation (as was) repaved it years ago I don't think they raised the barriers, or if they did they didn't raise them high enough. You were lucky there, I reckon!

Wyse's Hill is actually ok, even the very steep bit at the bottom. There's ice in patches on it but further up it's ok. Mind you, I keep in by the wall when I'm walking it :-)

NoDice

Ha yeah my boyfriend walks back that way from Apple and was telling me everyone was sitting down trying to slide down! He was also telling me how an old woman was trying to get into her house but kept slipping on the path so he helped her down the road, into her house and as she was thanking him he went flying into a near split!

this useless ****in government thought they were smart saving money by not gritting the roads/pavements as often as they should have done...

Have to agree with you too on that comment though. I was told they ran out of grit but as Chatelaine has stated they have been sorting out the bridge by the gate every morning without fail. Ballincollig is shocking in fact! You can't walk on the footpaths cause it's like a skating rink so people are walking on the roads which is obviously dangerous, especially since the cars are skidding too. As far as I know, nothing has been done at all out there regarding grit and most of the estates are on hills on the West end. One car was abandoned on it's side and all. It had skidded to the grass at the side of the road and the owner had left it with a note attached to explain with her contact info. This was over New Years and the guards were called and guess what? Still no grits. They were told by the council to buy their own rock salt and put it down if they're worried about their safety as they're "out of grit". Meh.