Post Comment: True grit in the snow
THE slightest dusting of snow can throw cities into chaos and place councils under the most intense scrutiny. The issue of most concern to the majority is whether the roads are passable and safe.
Yesterday, by modern standards, Notts received a decent covering of snow.
And we are pleased to report that the men and women at the city and county councils charged with gritting and snow- ploughing our roads did a fine job.
Of course there were problems. In a county that hardly sees snow these days it is irritating, but perhaps inevitable, the white stuff will have a disproportionate impact.
However, while there were long delays on some routes in the morning rush-hour, Nottingham did not seize up as London did a few days ago. Buses were for the most part able to keep running and other public services could reach their clients. Workers could get to work.
Criticism will be levelled at the local authorities, nonetheless. But the Evening Post was given unrestricted access to the city's gritting teams and they delivered the winter plan to the letter.
They do not set out to grit every road and after a heavy fall, snow will take time to clear. There will be congestion. But we think, overall, they won the battle.
What's more they have plenty of grit too, while other councils have been struggling. This is down to good planning.
With more snow on the way and the risk of residual snow, the council workers still have a lot to do. But they have made a good start and have our full support.
Comments
by Forest Gunner, Middx
Friday, February 06 2009, 12:14PM
“As a Londoner I wish to defend the unfair headlines the city has recieved over the last few days. Nottingham is a city of less than 700,000, whereas London has 7 million residents. Getting people moving in these conditions can be tricky, but I do believe it was the sheer volume of people travelling that led to the decision to remove the London bus system off the road and suspend the entire Tube network with the exception of the Victoria Line. The classic line being continuously repeated this week was about "southern softies" but in reality no city in the world has the volumes of traffic or transport infrastructure of London and in such treacherous conditions, vehicles such as a big red bus become dangerous when skidding. I myself ventured out in the east London area late on Monday afternoon when the buses were restored to the network and saw a few near misses in the Walthamstow area where the bus managed to stop just in time and avoid collisions. Without doubt had the buses been out and about earlier, then there is no doubt that the possibility of fatalities would have been very high indeed. On another note the fun of an extra couple of bank holidays nobody had expected were welcomed by all, and in light of the recent stressful times of credit crunches and redundancies, how refreshing it was to witness the city come together in a community like spirit and engage in building snowmen and snowfights. And one final point, yes we do know how to have fun in London town, because I don't recall any stories of anybody calling the Metropolitan police because of a few snowballs :P”