Aberdeen road bosses are urging the public to put in a special effort this winter to keep the city moving.
With temperatures set to plunge in the months ahead, the city council has unveiled its plan to tackle the worst of the weather with nearly 12,000 tonnes of salt on standby to grit the city’s 560 miles of roads.
This year, the 180 roads department staff with their fleet of snow clearing equipment are aiming to clear almost half of all the major roads before 7.30am to help commuters.
Around £1.73million has been set aside for this winter’s scheme which is expected to last from November 16 to March 20.
Intense snow and icefalls arrived across the country earlier this year in the form of the ‘Beast from the East’ weather front bringing chaos to the city’s streets.
The local authority faced criticism that it had not done enough to keep the roads and pavements clear.
However, council roads spokesman Ross Grant said he was “confident” the council would cope – but only with the help of city’s residents making use of community grit bins to keep their pavements clear.
He said: “While I’m confident the council are prepared for winter, it is important to say that we can’t be everywhere at once.
“We’re hoping it will be a mild winter, but the Scottish climate means there’s always a possibility of snow and ice, as we saw several times last winter.
“We recognise how willing residents in our communities are to help, so in addition to the existing 900 yellow grit bins, we have created more opportunities to enable residents who want to do their bit for their local community.
“This includes the popular one-tonne community salt bags and, this year, we are introducing big community salt bins at locations around the city.
“We’d ask residents to be prepared themselves, by carrying out journey planning, ensuring they have the right equipment for their journeys and having an alternative plan for transport if possible.”
Alongside the roads, 21 pavement gritters will also work to keep them clear to try and avoid the trips and falls of earlier this year.
