Residents associations urged to avail of salt scheme
As the cold snap continues, Chief Executive of Cork City Council Ann Doherty has urged residents committees to avail of the salt available to them.
Earlier this week she updated councillors on Monday at a council meeting about the measures that have been put in place to safeguard road users from hazardous conditions.
“We constantly monitor the weather conditions and prepare accordingly. We have been gritting and treating roads. We are aware this is probably going to be a longer cold snap so we will be out every night,” she said.
“There’s a map on our website that contains salting routes across the city and we salt and grit the city centre footpaths and bridges as well as the roads,” she added.
She highlighted an annual scheme where salt is available to community groups and resident associations to treat local problematic areas. The salt comes in one tonne bags, and the measure intended to help local communities to assist themselves during a cold spell.
“The scheme was advertised in the autumn and it closes on 15 December usually, but given the present cold snap, that scheme is reopened and is available for communities and application forms are available in the winter maintenance section of our website. That salt can be used by residents associations on roads and footpaths in their areas.”
She advised motorists to slow down, and pedestrians to be mindful of black ice on footpaths. She also highlighted the importance of appropriate footwear, and urged the public to take extra care when moving about in icy conditions.
An Rabharta Glas councillor Cllr Lorna Bogue described the area in front of the city council building as “an absolute ice rink”.
“I think we should be a little bit more careful about where we are salting. It is not good enough for us to tell people to wear appropriate footwear. It is icy outside, and we should be de-icing the footpaths,” she said.
Fianna Fáil councillor Terry Shannon thanked the city council operations department outdoor staff who he said were out “in all weathers and doing a fantastic job around the city,” and said that it was an impossible task for workers to salt all areas.
“We should should not be codding people that we can do everything. There is absolutely no way that this city council is in a position to grit every road and footpath in this city. People need to plan their journeys, plan their clothing and mind themselves.”
The chilly conditions look set to continue as Met Éireann has extended its cold weather advisory for the entire country until 9am Saturday.
Motorists are being warned about the heightened risk of hazardous traveling conditions due to widespread frost and icy patches, with the RSA urging motorists to slow down and watch out for vulnerable road-users.