East Dunbartonshire Council says it is winter ready

The Place, Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets Committee has approved the adoption of the council’s Winter Service Policy for 2019/20.

This guides how the Council responds to all cold weather conditions including response to severe weather, be it heavy snow, rain or freezing temperatures. Council crews will be on call 24/7 to deal with any challenging conditions .

Vice-Convener of the PNCA Committee, Councillor Susan Murray said: “Our gritting fleet is ready. We have salt supplies stored in our salt dome, and our highly experienced teams are on standby to keep roads and pavements as snow and ice-free as we possibly can.”

The Council says it uses the latest weather forecasting technology in planning its gritting operations including a dedicated forecasting service specific to East Dunbartonshire – and road condition sensor stations at various locations.

Councillor Murray added, “East Dunbartonshire, like all other local authorities, needs to prioritise which roads it treats. Our main priority is our primary routes, which cover 67% of our 514 km of road and consist of main roads, bus routes, access to schools, fire, police and hospitals, steep or dangerous roads and the main access roads to rural communities.

“We clear these before moving on to our secondary routes, which include all other roads within the authority such as local and general access roads, less used industrial roads and cul-de-sacs”.

The Council also has specialised gritters for footways based in strategic locations, covering main shopping areas; footways adjacent to community and health centres, footways near sheltered housing and schools, and steep or particularly wet footways that create enhanced risk.

More than 400 grit bins are also placed at strategic locations for residents to help themselves. The council says they are regularly serviced and refilled. If a grit bin near you is empty please phone 0300 123 4510.

Councillor Murray added: “Additional grit is available from Broomhill Depot, Kilsyth Road, Kirkintilloch. This is a facility for members of the public to use, so please bring a shovel and container.”

For more info on gritting, visit https://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/gritting.