Cork City Council urged to grit more footpaths during cold snap
Spreading salt on the footpaths outside the Cork University Hospital, Cork after an ice weather warning was issued. Picture Dan Linehan
Public representatives in Cork city have called for more footpaths and amenities across the city to be treated during the cold spell.
Chief Executive of Cork City Council Ann Doherty told councillors at Monday night's council meeting that the local authority is monitoring weather conditions and salting and gritting the roads accordingly.
“We salt and grit the city centre footpaths and bridges as well as the roads. We don't salt the footpaths outside of those areas.”
“We are advising motorists and all of us to plan our journeys, to slow down, to allow extra time because it is very very cold late at night and obviously the mornings are very risky,” she said.
“For all of us as pedestrians, we do need to be mindful of both black ice and ice on surfaces and appropriate footwear is really important for all of us and taking care and attention when we’re moving about in these icy conditions.”
An Rabharta Glas councillor Lorna Bogue raised concerns about conditions outside City Hall on Monday morning which she described as “an absolute ice rink”.
“I think we should be a little bit more careful about where we are salting, particularly footpaths. It’s not good enough for us to tell people to wear appropriate footwear. It is icy outside because it is winter so we should be salting the footpaths,” she said.
Workers’ Party councillor Ted Tynan asked that consideration be given to gritting the footpaths of hilly areas across the city which he said many pedestrians are having difficulty navigating.
Green Party councillor Dan Boyle congratulated the operations department on their work in gritting the roads but highlighted some areas across the city such as Father Dominic Road, Pearse Road, Pouladuff Road, Friars Walk and Connolly Road where he said the ice hazard persists longer due to less traffic on the roads and where there were two RTCs involving four cars on Monday.
Fianna Fáil councillor Terry Shannon complimented the Council’s outdoor staff who he said have been “out in all weathers, early hours when most people are in their beds with electric blankets on”.
“There is absolutely no way that this City Council is in the position to grit every single road and footpath in the city and when we get a cold spell, it generally comes - even though this one is for a week - fairly quickly and gone fairly quickly so the time that you’re looking to do this work is limited.
“I would ask people to mind themselves but to take it upon themselves as well to make sure the path in front of their home is looked after. We do have a scheme that is available to local residents and community associations.”
Ms Doherty also informed people of a scheme in place whereby local residents and community associations can apply for salt for their local estate or area.
The scheme is open from autumn until December 15 but has been reopened to applications given the current cold spell and can be accessed by visiting https://corkcity.submit.com/show/305.
Speaking to The Echo on Monday, Labour Party candidate for the South East Ward Peter Horgan welcomed that Cork City Council has reopened the applications for salt supplies but said that areas of high footfall such as schools and active travel routes must be salted before those using them arrive or to otherwise get the message out that those areas are off limits.
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