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Wednesday, 13 January 2010 23:15 |
Dublin City Council has been working to deal with the current cold snap since before Christmas. The current weather forecast is that this will continue into next week.
A programme of Road Salting has been in place for this period and while stocks remain in limited supply, the City Council is managing Road Treatment within the resources available and will continue to do so. On average 500 tonnes of salt are spread annually. In excess of 1600 tonnes have been used in the past three weeks. Salt is the primary ingredient for dealing with frost and snow. The use of sand is limited in an urban situation because of the consequences for the drainage system.
It remains our priority to focus on the treatment of Roads carrying the highest volumes of traffic, including National Primary Roads, Quality Bus Corridors and other major Bus Routes. This is the agreed national priority.
We are deploying all available staff to treat footpaths of highest pedestrian volume in the City Administrative Area and will be continuing this process as weather permits over the coming days.
A Local Co-ordination Centre has been set up in the Traffic Control Centre in Civic Offices, Wood Quay, through which Dublin City Council, An Gárda Siochána, the Health Service Executive and Dublin Bus can coordinate their actions directly over the coming days.
The City Council believes that by prioritising resources in this way, we will ensure that the City remains accessible, businesses will remain open and public transport routes will continue to function.
Notice to persons clearing snow and ice directly outside their own premises
Many people have cleaned paths outside their own homes and their own business premises. Others have asked for advice in this regard. They should obviously exercise extreme caution taking note of the following:
1. Please be aware of the risks involved.
2. Wear warm and protective clothing, appropriate footwear and use the correct equipment e.g. spades or shovels
3. Under no circumstance pour hot or cold water on the footpath as this will freeze almost immediately
4. Use Salt to treat the footpath surface
5. Do not block Road Drainage or Kerb Drainage Gullies
6. Do not throw debris cleared from footpaths onto Roads or Pavements |