Peeblesshire News | News | Chairman grits his teeth over icy pavements

Friday, 5th December, 2008

Published: Friday, 11th January, 2008 10:30

Chairman grits his teeth over icy pavements

By Caitlin Smith

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Ross McGinn puts grit down on the bridge over the Leithen Water.

OLD people are in danger of falling and injuring themselves because Scottish Borders Council is failing to grit the pavements properly.

Ross McGinn, Chair of the Innerleithen, Walkerburn and Traquair Community Council, said that large areas across the Borders had been missed out when the ground gritter went to work last week.

Particular concerns existed about the bridge crossing the Leithen Water.

Mr McGinn said: “That is the main access route to the High Street for people living on the east side of the town and the Council seem to have forgotten to put the grit down.

“It’s terrifying to see old people cross that stretch of pavement because I really worry they’re going to slip.

“These gritters have done a lot of work, but I think they need to be given training so they know to cover every area.

“In many cases they are leaving treacherous parts of pathway unprotected from ice.”

So anxious was the Innerleithen representative that he and another volunteer, Tom Harrison, decided to take to the streets themselves and throw down the grit.

Borders General Hospital reported that towards the end of 2007 there was a marked increase of patients attending Accident and Emergency, with approximately 95 per cent of that number due to slips on ice.

A Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said they received weather forecasts daily from the Met Office and planned their responses accordingly.

She denied that SBC were taking insufficient precautions and said the violent weather conditions prevented the grit was sticking.

“During the recent spell of very cold weather, with some heavy snowfalls and low road temperatures, we have been gritting roads and pavements overnight and throughout the day,” she told the Peeblesshire News.

“During a cold spell, we re-grit all the main routes and pavements in the main Borders towns on a regular basis each day when low temperatures are forecast.

“The persistent heavy snow showers experienced last Thursday and Friday meant that roads and pavements which had been treated soon became covered with snow again.

“Also, rain washing the salt off pavements and then re-freezing may have caused additional problems in certain areas but we do grit all main routes as regularly as possible when this is happening."

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