There have inevitably been complaints about gritting (lack of) & bin emptying (ditto), & some people have undoubtedly seen little of either. We have been more lucky – there have been only two days when I personally could not get out, or felt it unwise to do so – but then I have not attempted to go just to the village. If I can get to the bus stop better to go all the way to take advantage of the facilities in town.
We have even had our bins (though not the recycling boxes) emptied, albeit two days late in the week after New Year.
The councillor admitted that they had all been taken by surprise by the snow of 20 December – which means presumably that the Met Office really did not get the forecast right. So by the time the gritters came out roads were already blocked by stranded or abandoned cars. After that first day the main roads were certainly well cleared.
The story about side roads & pavements is more interesting, in its way. These have always been the legal responsibility of the County Council, but contracted out for many years to the local district council. Then last year, after a thorough review of costs, the county took the responsibility back in house – taking over, as it happened, on 14 December.
Bad mistake, as it turned out.
So there has been a re-review. The district council has taken back the responsibility & to make assurance doubly sure has bought two quad bikes with snow blades & a small tractor ditto, to make certain we can cope in future if this winter is the new norm. They have thus spent more this month on snow clearing equipment than they have in the last 15 years.
On the bright side all the hard work on the drains has paid off. The thaw has brought no floods round our way, though the river & the stream are in full spate. Even the track, which was still covered with a thick layer of ice on Monday, muddy & very wet on Tuesday, was almost springily dry under foot today. I have passed that way each day in order to take more than a month’s worth of washed & squashed down to recycling.
Local radio has really proved its value, keeping us up to date with road & school closures, bus routes affected (as far as I know the trains never stopped - a pretty impressive achievement given the height they have to climb to & the steepness of some of the inclines involved.)
Even now. This morning they were reporting (a trifle sceptically) that Snake Pass is still closed.
Related post
Cycling to the future
Cycling to the future
