Are Local Authorities/NRA up to the task?

Bullseye1

Just listening to the radio and the amount of businesses confirming huge numbers of cancellations due to roads not being cleared/gritted. These guys pay large sums of money to LA through rates etc yet are being let down by them when they need them the most. A lot of businesses particularly in the service industry rely on monies made in December to tide them over in Jan/Feb.

What can we do to improve this going forward. I have to say the NRA would not fill me with any confidence.

busman

Bullseye1 wrote: »

Just listening to the radio and the amount of businesses confirming huge numbers of cancellations due to roads not being cleared/gritted. These guys pay large sums of money to LA through rates etc yet are being let down by them when they need them the most. A lot of businesses particularly in the service industry rely on monies made in December to tide them over in Jan/Feb.

What can we do to improve this going forward. I have to say the NRA would not fill me with any confidence.

No public body in the country fills me with confidence

The problem now it that everything is centralised.
Would be no problem now if salt had been distributed to local communities early in the season.
Plenty of people would be willing to give a hand to spread it.
People should be empowered to do things themselves and not be made rely on w*nkers behind desks to make the decisions for them.

tharlear

why does the goverment have to shovel the walk in front of you house. In places where snow is common you do it your self or you get fined, and you have to pay the city the cost they incured in removing it. Attached are the local regulations where I live at the moment.

Snow removal.
(a) The owner of each parcel of real estate in the city abutting or bordering upon any street or other public place shall remove or cause to be removed all snow and ice from the sidewalk in front, along the side of, or adjacent to such premises to the full paved width of such sidewalk within 24 hours after such snow or ice shall have fallen or accumulated thereon.
(b) In the case of snow and ice on the sidewalk which shall be frozen so hard that it cannot be removed without damage to the sidewalk, the owner of every parcel of real estate shall within the time specified in this section cause the sidewalk abutting or adjacent to such premises to be strewn and kept strewn with sand or some other suitable material, and shall, as soon thereafter as the weather shall permit, thoroughly clean such sidewalk.
(c) The lessee, occupant or person having charge or, if there is no lessee, occupant or person having charge, then the owner of any building so located, abutting upon or near to any public street or place where snow or ice may fall from the roof thereof, into or upon such street or place, or upon the sidewalk thereof, shall cause all snow and ice to be removed from such roof within 24 hours after such snow and ice shall have ceased falling or forming or provide suitable guards so that ice or snow shall not be discharged upon the sidewalk.
(d) In all cases where snow and ice have not been removed from the sidewalks and roofs, or in all cases of the neglect of the responsible person to spread sand or other substance upon snow and ice as required by this section, the responsible person may be cited for a violation of this section. The commissioner of public works shall be promptly notified of all violations of this section, whether or not a citation is issued, and shall proceed as provided in subsection (e) of this section.
(e) The commissioner of public works shall keep an accurate account of the expenses of keeping the sidewalks clear of snow and ice in all cases where the owners or occupants of abutting lots fail to do so, and the expense of such clearing in front of any lot or parcel of land shall be reported and levied as a special tax against the same in accordance with "state regulations"

As a final comment here we are responsible for the pavement in front of our houses. If it cracked and broken you have to pay for it to be replaced. no waiting for the corpo, You get a notice that the pavement is not up to scratch and you have a set period of time to get it replaced or you get fined.

Jayuu

busman wrote: »

The problem now it that everything is centralised

It seems you can never please everybody. Up to last year the main point of contention was that there was no central co-ordination of efforts so the amount of clearance varied wildly from place to place.

The NRA had distributed over 75,000 tonnes of salt to local authorities during the year in order to keep the road network open during the last snow event. Since then they've received more and are distributing that as well to try and keep the network open during this period of weather.

We've experienced some extreme weather conditions over the last month, more extreme than I can recall. As the NRA point out they've already used more salt in the last month than in an average winter. And we should take note that its not just in Ireland where authorities are struggling to keep things going.

Bullseye1

I'm confused, what have footpaths got to do with roads? Footpaths are a different subject and I agree shop owners etc should be clearing in front of their premises.

tharlear wrote: »

why does the goverment have to shovel the walk in front of you house. In places where snow is common you do it your self or you get fined, and you have to pay the city the cost they incured in removing it. Attached are the local regulations where I live at the moment.

Snow removal.
(a) The owner of each parcel of real estate in the city abutting or bordering upon any street or other public place shall remove or cause to be removed all snow and ice from the sidewalk in front, along the side of, or adjacent to such premises to the full paved width of such sidewalk within 24 hours after such snow or ice shall have fallen or accumulated thereon.
(b) In the case of snow and ice on the sidewalk which shall be frozen so hard that it cannot be removed without damage to the sidewalk, the owner of every parcel of real estate shall within the time specified in this section cause the sidewalk abutting or adjacent to such premises to be strewn and kept strewn with sand or some other suitable material, and shall, as soon thereafter as the weather shall permit, thoroughly clean such sidewalk.
(c) The lessee, occupant or person having charge or, if there is no lessee, occupant or person having charge, then the owner of any building so located, abutting upon or near to any public street or place where snow or ice may fall from the roof thereof, into or upon such street or place, or upon the sidewalk thereof, shall cause all snow and ice to be removed from such roof within 24 hours after such snow and ice shall have ceased falling or forming or provide suitable guards so that ice or snow shall not be discharged upon the sidewalk.
(d) In all cases where snow and ice have not been removed from the sidewalks and roofs, or in all cases of the neglect of the responsible person to spread sand or other substance upon snow and ice as required by this section, the responsible person may be cited for a violation of this section. The commissioner of public works shall be promptly notified of all violations of this section, whether or not a citation is issued, and shall proceed as provided in subsection (e) of this section.
(e) The commissioner of public works shall keep an accurate account of the expenses of keeping the sidewalks clear of snow and ice in all cases where the owners or occupants of abutting lots fail to do so, and the expense of such clearing in front of any lot or parcel of land shall be reported and levied as a special tax against the same in accordance with "state regulations"

As a final comment here we are responsible for the pavement in front of our houses. If it cracked and broken you have to pay for it to be replaced. no waiting for the corpo, You get a notice that the pavement is not up to scratch and you have a set period of time to get it replaced or you get fined.

road_high

I think we need Regional Roads Authorities to look after our roads to be honest. Case in point on the N80 between Portlaoise and Tullamore the other day. Road was in perfect condition from Portlaoise to the Offaly county bounds at Killeigh. Thereafter that SAME road deteriorated into an awful ice rink all because the local authority in Offaly did not grit/salt it. It is these kind of inconsistencies that really grate me and other motorists; I just don't see the need for the duplication of services across so many neighbouring authorities in a small country. We can't afford it first and foremost. I know it is a political hot potato but I do think we should amalgamate the councils into regional authorities and gain some kind of efficiency through scale.
Rant over!

Carawaystick

the m50 is run by a private sector co and they hardly filled the world with confidence either