Muir welcomes pavement gritting deal

Cllr Muir in Holywood last year
during heavy snow and ice

Last year The County Down Spectator rightly described efforts by the Council and Roads Service to grit Town Centre pavements as ‘too little too late’. Town Centre pavements were left covered in snow and ice in a treacherous state for far too long whilst the Council and Roads Service bickered. 

I am however glad that the Council and Roads Service have signed an agreement concerning gritting and removal of ice from Town Centre pavements after I continuously raised the issue throughout 2011. 

The new agreement will hopefully provide a framework for action. Whilst it will not be possible to grit every pavement after every sprinkling of snow it provides a basis for a more co-ordinated approach focused on key areas during extreme and prolonged cold weather when snow and ice make Town Centre’s inaccessible. 

I will closely monitor implementation to ensure lessons are learnt from 2010 and ratepayers receive a better response from government when temperatures fall and snow turns to ice.