Regarding the story “Council Call For Gritty Response”, I know many able-bodied people would be more than glad to go out and help clear footpaths, etc., like I would, but isn’t part of our council tax meant to be used to pay for keeping our streets clear in the winter?
The gritting has been atrocious, with many pavements like ice rinks and, where gritting has been done on pavements, it’s like a child’s spade has been used to spread grit and salt.
If the council doesn’t have enough manpower to keep the pavements and side streets clear, why can’t it do what my late father told me was done many years ago when the old Dundee Corporation ran our city.
Men who were unemployed were used temporarily to clear the streets.
Perhaps another suggestion would be for people doing community service to be involved keeping pathways clear of ice, too. — Pavement Skater.
Council ‘trying to save money’
In the Tele, a council spokesman says it has adequate stocks of grit, then goes on to say it will give priority to main roads.
He also urges able-bodied people to help their neighbours by using grit from bins to clear footpaths.
Apart from the fact that we pay council tax for this, there are many areas, the Glens, Coldside etc, which house mainly elderly people who are unable to do this.
If an employer had his workforce working in such dangerous conditions, Health and Safety would come down on them like a ton of bricks. Who is going to do it for our vulnerable and elderly citizens?
Could someone come out and tell us straight that they won’t grit the pavements because they want to save money, and not because of a shortage of grit, manpower and gritting machines?
Up until last weekend all footpaths were relatively clear with more than one run each day, which shows it can be done if the will is there. — Coldside.
Should budget for hard winters
After reading the story on the wintry conditions, I cannot believe the council when it tells us to do the work of clearing paths.
I pay full council tax and have never missed a payment, but they still expect me, who incidentally broke a leg when I slipped on an icy, untreated road 10 years ago, to clear the paths around my home using grit bins.
My road and pavements and the surrounding roads are regularly walked on, but have not had a sniff of grit since the cold spell.
However, the council will gladly clear the pavement up Dock Street where few people walk.
We have had mild winters the last few years so the council should budget to cope when a hard winter comes along. — Torvill & Dean.
Concerned about safety
I am extremely concerned about my own safety as well as that of others on roads in the conditions we have had of late.
I appreciate Dundee City Council has staff on holidays, etc., but is it not in its best interests to ensure that the roads etc., are safe?
I live in a cul-de-sac and cannot even walk out my close without getting help and I am an able-bodied Dundonian.
What do I pay council tax for, if not partly to keep roads safe?
Who will provide warm clothing and shovels etc. for myself and neighbours to grit streets on foot?
What if someone falls and files a lawsuit against the council for neglect of roads? Will that also be covered by council tax payers?
Who is going to staff A & E in hospitals when more accidents occur?
I do hope the authority can come to some sort of solution.
I also feel the vehicles it has for the job may be more effective than me and others having to go out with buckets and salt. — Mrs Frost.
Grit bins ‘empty’
I was flabbergasted when I read Dundee City Council’s answer to the big freeze.
We are asked to grit our own paths. I would love to if the council bothered to fill up the grit bins that are on our estate.
They have been empty for over a week —all nine of them. I pay a hefty council tax, and the least I expect is not to slip, due to the inability of this council to do its job. Fill these bins up. — Barry Boon.
Focus on grit rather than parking tickets
I commend the traffic warden who slipped and slithered his way around a van in the small car park at the foot of the Hilltown, Dundee, on Monday December 28.
He showed great skill in managing to stay on his feet as he took pictures and details of the vehicle, which, obviously, had overstayed the ticket time limit.
It’s just a pity that, while Dundee City Council can find tenacious employees to dish out parking tickets, they couldn’t find another with a shovel and some grit to cover what resembled an ice rink.
As it was, drivers parked at the bottom end required a helping push from other motorists as they tried to leave. — Boiling Point, Dundee.
Minds made up over Balmossie fire cover?
Tayside Fire Board’s Vice- Convener Councillor Christina Roberts saying the Fire Brigade’s Union campaign to keep a full-time crew at Dundee’s Balmossie station is “defending the indefensible” is illuminating.
It emphasises the total opposition she and Board Convener Councillor Lyall have to retaining the full night-time cover at Balmossie fire station.
Has Councillor Roberts, or any of her board member compatriots, even bothered to contact any interested parties outwith Fire Chief Stephen Hunter’s camp to gain other slants on the Balmossie issue?
It would appear their only objective is to follow Chief Fire Officer Stephen Hunter’s edict about the station.
I ask Cllr Roberts if she would be so robust in her actions if any emergency services were to be reduced in her own ward, especially considering that it means no increase or decrease in costs?
Would Dundee East MSP Shona Robison SNP give her opinion on this matter as some of the people who voted her into office are involved in the consequence of any change in Balmossie Fire Station status and her silence has been deafening. — Fair Shakes.
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