Within these pages you will find information regarding Falkirk Council's winter service plan for dealing with the clearance of ice and snow from roads and footways.
GET READY FOR WINTER
Because even an average winter is likely to include cold snaps and snowfalls, ice, storms, high winds, heavy rain and fog, the Scottish Government has published information to help you and your family get prepared early.
Ready Scotland (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.
Falkirk Council takes considerable steps to maintain public services and keep roads clear, whatever the weather – see below for details of our road and footway priorities. But the key to being properly prepared is what you can do, in your own home, and with your neighbours, to minimise the effects of winter weather where you live and work. So don't get caught out this winter. Visit www.ReadyScotland.org/| today, and start getting ready for winter.
WINTER GRITTING AND SNOW CLEARING
The Council's aim is to prevent snow and ice from stopping safe travel by vehicles and pedestrian traffic over the Council road network.
It is impossible to keep all roads and footways free of snow and ice all the time, so we have a priority list that tells us which roads and footways
to tackle first.
During the winter we have a fleet of gritting and ploughing vehicles on 24 hour standby, along with staff who constantly monitor road and weather information. Our engineers use this information to prepare an action plan for the following 24 hours.
More information is available on the Falkirk Council website:
Website: www.falkirk.gov.uk|
Email: roads@falkirk.gov.uk| Phone: 01324 590989
Why do we salt the road and footpath network?
The winter service forms an integral part of the road maintenance function and Falkirk Council, by virtue of the Roads (Scotland) Act, 1984 (Section 34) has a statutory duty to 'take such steps as it considers reasonable to prevent snow and ice endangering the safe passage of pedestrian and vehicles over public roads'.
Falkirk Council uses rock salt for winter service operations. The use of grit will only be considered when the temperature is extremely low.
How and when do we salt?
Falkirk Council's objective in relation to the winter service is the reduction as far as possible of the effects of adverse weather. To provide travelling conditions as safe as is reasonably possible having regard to financial constraints.
Our aim is to ensure that salt is spread on the roads before ice forms. We achieve this by using a fleet of 10 main line gritters. These gritters spread around 5,000 tonnes of salt on the Falkirk Council road network in an average winter.
We may carry out precautionary salting on receipt of an adverse weather forecast, normally out with peak traffic times before the onset of icy conditions or prior to the morning peak.
Gritting is normally completed within two hours and in the morning situation usually before 08:00 hours.
Which roads are salted?
In order to achieve our objective it is recognised that a priority treatment system is required, which will concentrate on the more important routes and then be extended to the less important routes when resources become available.
With 935 kilometres of council maintained roads it would be prohibitively expensive to treat the entire network. 374 kilometres are normally treated, about 40% of the network.
ROAD PRIORITIES
Roads are treated by gritting and ploughing, to try to ensure the
busiest roads are kept open and safe.
C1 - Council roads of primary importance and which form a strategic network,
main urban traffic routes, the main routes to larger schools where these can be clearly identified, the Council's surfaced car parks, major bus routes and routes to main Emergency Service establishments.
C2 - These routes include main urban spine roads into housing and industrial areas where there are difficult bends or steep inclines and are particularly prone to icing.
C3 - These are identified roads to less populated rural areas. C3 routes include lesser spine roads and larger cul-de-sacs within housing and industrial areas where there are difficult bends or steep inclines and are particularly prone to icing.
C4A - Roads within this category are C4 routes presenting the highest level of importance and will be categorised as Priority C4A.
C4 - The remainder of the road network.
FOOTWAY PRIORITIES
Footways are treated in the following order:-
F1 - Main town and village shopping areas and centres of high pedestrian usage. Pedestrian precincts, main routes to urban schools, main access routes to hospitals, clinics, identified public buildings, major sheltered housing complexes and other high risk areas. Steps and ramps to underpasses and footbridges together with any 'low level' footpaths associated with the underpasses and the footpaths on the footbridges.
F2 - Busy urban links between shopping centres and commercial areas. F2 routes also include main pedestrian routes in major housing developments and the main access routes to sheltered housing complexes and other establishments. Falkirk Councils' surfaced non car parks.
F3 - One footway along most Priority 1 carriageway gritting route within
built up areas, which best serves pedestrian traffic and/or serves the
most premises.
F4 - The remainder of the footway network.
GRIT BINS
Grit bins will only be provided where there are difficult bends, inclines, junctions and turning areas which are particularly prone to icing. Community grit bins may also be provided in villages, smaller communities and urban areas.
Grit Bins will be provided on routes:-
Where there are difficult bends, inclines, junctions and turning areas which are particularly prone to icing and where they have been in place for a number of years (historic reasons)
On the condition that:-
• Local residents agree on a suitable location.
• There is confidence that the grit bin will be properly used.
• A special need has been recognised.
Roads Services currently supply 833 grit bins to help local communities to help themselves. A mixture of salt and grit is provided solely for use on the adopted
public road network and not on private areas.
Email: grit.bins@falkirk.gov.uk| Phone: 01324 590989
SNOW CLEARANCE
The Government wants to encourage a society where individuals can help themselves and others in their community. There is no law preventing members of the public from clearing the snow and ice on the pavement
outside their properties. If members of the public decide to clear snow or ice on public footways in front of their property, our advice is:
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Do not use hot water. This will melt the snow but may well replace it with black ice, increasing the risk of injury.
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When clearing snow and ice wear visible clothing and sturdy footwear to provide a good grip.
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If shovelling snow, take care not to block other footways or road drainage gullies.
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Spread some salt on the area you have cleared to prevent any ice forming.
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Don't use too much salt. A little goes a long way.
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If rain washes the salt away, consider spreading some more before re-freezing takes place. Salt can be purchased from local builders merchants and DIY stores in addition to that provided in Grit Bins, however table salt works just as well.
Weather forecasting and decision making
The Forecast Provider provides us with weather forecasts which include road surface temperature information.
The forecasts form part of our Ice Prediction System which is monitored 24 hours a day throughout the Winter.
During the winter period a Duty Officer Control Room, staffed by officers from Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire on a rota basis, operates between 17:00 and 09:00 hours on weekdays, and between 17:00 hours Friday to 09:00 hours Monday and public holidays.
There is a number of road weather stations throughout the Falkirk Council area that provide atmospheric and road surface temperature information at each location. This information is used by the forecast provider to prepare weather forecasts and to aid the Duty Officers and Duty Managers in their decision making process.
How can we get it wrong?
No matter how accurate the forecast, there are situations where we cannot grit the network prior to icy conditions. Some of the situations are as follows:
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When rain is followed by rapidly clearing skies, salting will normally start after the rain has stopped (to avoid the salt being washed away). Sometimes temperatures may fall by as much as 5 degrees per hour and the wet roads may well freeze before we have started or completed salting.
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"Dawn frost" occurs on dry roads, when early morning dew develops, falls on a cold road, and freezes on impact. It is impossible to forecast with any accuracy where and when it will occur.
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Rush hour snowfall, when rain turns to snow coinciding with the rush hour, early salting cannot take place as it would be washed away and gritters cannot make progress due to traffic congestion. We will, however, always carry out salting to remove ice, in line with the road priority. This is not ideal, however, as salting takes longer due to traffic congestion.