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Council’s winter watch begins

Aberdeen City Council is getting ready for winter and calling on the public to do the same.

Roads staff are gearing up to tackle ice and snow on the city’s roads and footpaths and helping to ensure the public are forewarned of bad weather by posting daily updates on the council’s website.

The weather forecast and predicted roads temperatures are being monitored daily and the details posted on the council website at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/gritting along with information about where salting and snow clearing work is taking place.

The full Winter Services Plan will begin in November, but the crews are available now to tackle any early problems. Salting and snow clearing work will be carried out as and when required.

The council is starting the winter with over 16,000 tonnes of salt with a further 6,000 tonnes due for delivery in November. This is the largest stockpile of salt that the council has ever had for winter operations

Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure convener Kate Dean said: “The long, hard winters of recent years have emphasised to us just how important it is to be prepared for bad weather. Roads staff have always worked extremely hard to keep the city moving by monitoring the forecast and reacting accordingly.

“We hope that by creating a one-stop winter shop where people can easily access information about the weather, road conditions and what winter maintenance work is being carried out, where, and when, we can make life a little easier and safer for Aberdeen residents this winter.

“I’d urge everyone to refer to this very useful tool when planning to go out and about once the winter strikes.”

General manager, operations, Mike Cheyne said: “In the past we have thanked motorists for co-operating and working with us through some of the difficult periods of the winter and we look forward to enjoying that level of co-operation again this year.

“As ever, we would ask drivers to treat gritters and snowploughs as emergency vehicles during periods of bad weather and to allow them to get through the traffic so that they can get on with the job of treating the roads as quickly as possible.”

Motorists are reminded to drive according to the conditions, and are asked to be patient while salting and snow clearing work is carried out. The worst time to tackle any snowfall is during the peak periods with the gritters and snowploughs being stuck in traffic queues. To combat this, salting and snow clearing work will routinely begin in the early hours to avoid being caught up in the peak traffic movements, but unfortunately we cannot dictate the weather pattern.

Council employees carry out salting and snow clearing work on city roads on a priority basis. Please bear in mind that all roads cannot be treated simultaneously. If there is a particular problem on a road, please call the Aberdeen City Council contact centre on 08456 080919. Problems can also be reported using the Report It link on the city council website at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

Grit boxes will be filled and residents are reminded that the grit is there for them to use on public areas, as well as for the use of council staff. If a grit box needs to be refilled, please call 08456 080919 or call 01224 241511 and leave a message, stating the location of the box, or use the Report It link on the city council website at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

Aberdeen City Council has published a Winter Advice leaflet which gives guidance about motoring during the winter months. These leaflets are available from libraries, community centres and Marischal College.

Local and national TV and radio stations and text services provide a useful source of information for motorists and travellers during inclement weather conditions.

The Ready Scotland website at www.ReadyScotland.org contains practical advice and simple steps you can take to protect yourself, your family, your community and your business from the worst effects of all kinds of weather.

For general information on main and trunk roads visit the Traffic Scotland website at www.trafficscotland.org

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