The Isle of Wight Council has announced that fewer roads will be treated by gritters when freezing conditions hit this winter in a bid to save money.
As part of the council’s 2019-20 budget savings, and following a full risk assessment, a total of 30 roads have been removed from this year’s programme including Military Road, Blacklands Lane near Newport, East Ashey Lane, Bonchurch Shute and Yaverland Road.
However, the route between Northwood and Shalfleet via Porchfield, and including Whitehouse Road to Vittlefields Cross, will be treated in the expectation of higher than normal traffic volumes using this route during the St Mary’s junction improvement works.
Roads removed from the gritting route include: Afton Road, Freshwater (Calbourne Road to Military Road); Military Road; Brook Village Road, Brook; Appleford Road, Chale; Wilmingham Lane, Thorley; Thorley Road, Yarmouth; Thorley Main Road; Wellow Main Road; Station Road, Ningwood; Newbridge Main Road; Castle Street, East Cowes (Old Road to Well Road); Old Road, East Cowes; New Barn Road, East Cowes; Beatrice Avenue, East Cowes (Whippingham Road to Saunders Way); Church Road, Wootton; St Edmunds Walk, Wootton; Blacklands Lane, Newport; Green Lane, Ashey; East Ashey Lane, Ashey; West Lane, Brading; Forelands Road, Bembridge; Yaverland Road, Sandown; Culver Parade, Sandown; Alverstone Road, Winford (Forest Road to Kern Lane); Queens Road, Shanklin; Chine Avenue, Shanklin; Bonchurch Shute, Ventnor; Bonchurch Village Road, Ventnor; Undercliff Drive, St Lawrence to Niton.
The Isle of Wight Council has published a gritting route map to help people identify those routes which will be treated in freezing conditions as part of its winter maintenance service.
Cabinet member for infrastructure and transport, Councillor Ian Ward, said:
“The council’s focus has to be on the Island’s primary routes — those carrying the highest volumes including key commuter routes — as it is not practical or economical to salt every road.
“Despite the need to make savings to set a balanced budget, we have ensured our arterial routes are covered to keep the Island moving in times of snow and ice. We will continue to monitor the situation and, should the need arise, carry out bespoke gritting where necessary.
Article continues below this advertisement “We will also continue to treat pavements in town centre locations in snowy conditions.”
Island Roads, which deliver the winter service on behalf of the council, typically run the service from November until the end of March, however, the company began its close monitoring of the network conditions at the start of October to ensure that any abnormally cold spell could be responded to if required. They have also taken delivery of around 1,600 tonnes of salt, a comparable amount to previous years, in readiness for the winter season.
Later this month the company will also begin its annual Autumn Parade when all the winter fleet of vehicles and equipment are re-tested, and drivers ride out in the gritting vehicles to familiarise themselves with the new routes.
Councillor Ward added:
“Please take extra care when driving in dangerous conditions, especially if the roads are icy or frosty, or if it’s snowing.
“Always drive according to the conditions. Just because a road has been gritted doesn’t mean it is safe to drive at normal speeds in poor weather conditions.
“While we do everything we can to keep traffic moving during severe winter weather, it is important for drivers to drive with caution and consider whether their journey is absolutely necessary.
“I’d urge road users to visit http://www.islandroads.com/27-winter-service-.html which features a winter maintenance map highlighting the routes which will be salted in the event of ice and snow.”
OMG let the deaths this will inevitably cause be on the Isle of Wight councils hands!!!
Why do we pay council tax for to line the pockets of the councillors, well St Mary’s will do well
When are they going to realise that this sort of move is a false economy. By not gritting roads you are adding to the likelihood of more accidents, which in turn means a greater strain and cost to the emergency services. It results in an increase in insurance claims (and subsequent cost to all insurance premiums). More accidents means the likehood of emergency road closures, thus putting a further strain onto the road network and delaying everyone as they try and get to go to and from work. But as long as the IOW Council and Island Roads can save a few quid then I guess it must be the right thing to do.
Instead of taking the roundabout away which no one wanted they could have used the money on a more important project like gritting
What will happen when people have “incidents” on black ice on untreated roads ( if frozen obviously) and a LOT of people have more incedents in same area. Will Council still not treat these roads ? What about poor emergency services going to theses incidents ? Not nice for them. Yet Council waste so much money on totally uncessary things i.e. St Mary’s area Newport when the trouble is the lower end of dual carriageway ( Coppins Bridge). Just a thought BUT once St Mary’s project finished and traffic builds up there waiting for lights etc. It will make Coppins Bridge look better !!!!!! So Council will say ” see we fixed that !!!! Don’t think wherever jo public says they do what they want. They’ve proved that time again.
Wow the island is not corrupt in anyway and im sure not every single road that has a member of the council living on it will be gritted, I’m sure its not like that. The council want us to be safe so they tell us prior that 30 less roads wont be salted. Atleast they told us and we didn’ have to find out the hard way. Cheers for protecting me, council, I can see why I pay my council tax now
Morons
Let’s just hope nobody gets hurt.
Let’s hope nobody gets hurt.
Can’t get to work and, unlike some, not paid = no money to pay council tax. And, if am involved in an RTI sue the council I will, for sure.
Perhaps they just want everyone to stay in and not go to work absolutely stupid
IOW Council now deliver even less services.
They have already dumped many on the parish councils. Creating an additional layer of cost to the poll tax payer.
Last year IOW council increased senior management at great cost, to deliver less. In private sector, staffing is reduced, when giving less.
Next year, we will yet again get massive increase in poll tax. Even now people are suffering financial hardship, paying this onerous tax. Which increases by many times inflation. Doubtless in near future we will get an additional cost to collect the dustbins.
How right you are. The council are now reducing verge cutting, and the gullible Parish Councils will step up and take on the verge cutting themselves. This is then added to the precept, as the cost of cutting using special equipment to travel over kerbs and to be road legal is very expensive.
As more and more homes are built, toilets, library’s etc are closed, just WHERE is all the extra council tax money spent?
Adult social care wastes so much money, so some great Joey can be driven to the beach by a couple of paid, ‘carers’ whilst they chat and smoke
Low life in places like the Foyer in Ryde to abuse, daft children having paid helpers to tend them, instead of those that bred them looking after them, new cars for disabled, to be parked up all day, when a couple of free taxi rides would suffice, etc etc.
The whole system needs a shake up.
Of course it’s nice to be nice’ but clearly we cannot afford to help every ‘hard luck’ case.
At one time if you had a disability or squiffy kid, it was just ‘hard luck’, now people are financially better off, which is wrong. No one should suffer, but what was once hard luck, now means, society has to pay and we can’t afford too any longer on the same ‘scale’.
I suggest that anyone that has an accident on the roads that are not going to be gritted/salted should get in touch with a no claim no fee company to sue the council. Maybe a ‘class action’ to make it really hurt ?I can’t speak for most roads but surely the Military Road is a prime candidate for being a death trap in the ‘cold’ weather ?
Yes military road would be a nightmare. Just can’t get my head around logic of Council. How many accidents have we had on this Island just this year ? And when we get frosty weather there will be so many more and without salt is rediculous. Doesn’t matter at wasting “our” money on that useless piece of metal that is a joke all over the country ( floating bridge) and then paying for another launch for foot passengers. Nice to know Council is looking after people’s safety on the Island 1st !!!. What are they going to do close all untreated roads when frosty !! Is it only me or does anyone else noticed workforce at Forest Road ( St.Mary’s) seem to have too many men. Poor chaps are like cardboard cutouts ! We are paying for them to stand there watching others work. 4 men watching a digger other day.
Military Road is my daily commute to work. Will have to leave an hour earlier in the winter and crawl along at 20mph causing accidents because those behind me will be over taking me. Oh the joys of the council !
That will save them some money so they can spend even more money on the floating bridge and a wage increase for themselves
can we get the leaves out of the drains first before we start the gritting debate.
I travel to freshwater twice a week from Ventnor for NHS work – using the Military road – its the most efficient route – you’ve just made my life a little bit harder – thankyou!