Hunts Resident wrote @ February 9, 2009 at 11:42 am

A great initiative – lots of problems round here. I’ll be submitting a (long) list shortly!

  Geoff Grayton wrote @ February 9, 2009 at 6:42 pm

THe biggest poblem for me is the icy pavements resulting from people cycling on the pavement whilst snow covers them and leaving a wet track which later freezes. Any pedestrian has to navigate very gingerly along the pavements especially as snow melts and later the water freezes.
Walking on the roads is often the safest route, but this can cause danger from impatient drivers who consider their territory has been invaded!
The pavements around Impington Vilage college are a prime example of where gritting footpaths as well as roads is needed. Another priority should be all bus routes so that the busses can keep run ning!

  Frances Dolan wrote @ February 15, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Just a word or two about my experiences in walking a short distance along Queen Edith’s Way. to visit a friend during the aftermath of the snow. On another occasion I went a short distance from my home in the road to the hospital, for a bus into town. The pathways were very treacherous as they appeared not to have been treated and had become impacted with ice. In some spots the ice was slow to clear, mainly on the shaded parts of Q.E.W. I therefore had to make part of the journey when/where it was safe to do so, by walking on the road, I was very afraid of falling over. My concern was for the elderly having to negotiate these conditions when making a journey to the Drs, chemists, post etc. It must also have been very difficult for cyclists using the cycle paths in these lethal conditions.

I support a review of what went wrong/right so recommendations and plans can be formulated for the future. As the climate changes, we will experience more frequent spells of adverse weather conditions and need to be prepared. I am pleased to read that any review would also take into consideration the potential damage to the environment by the use of great quantities of salt. I do have a memory that many years ago roads and pathways were treated with sand or fine grit/gravel which seemed to do the trick on the pavements. Perhaps this would now be considered too messy or expensive but it did last!

  David Hembrow wrote @ February 19, 2009 at 7:19 pm

We used to live in Cambridge, but emigrated to the Netherlands. Cycle paths here are gritted comprehensively when there is any chance at all of them freezing.

You can see several picture of the process, including newspaper clippings showing the extent of the gritting on a map on my blog.

Why Cambridge never has done the same thing is beyond me.

@Anna: Our council here has gritting machines which fit on all the cycle paths, over the bridges etc. No need for ineffective hand gritting.

@Elizabeth: No snow days here. My children cycled to school when it was -9 C, as did all the others. Here the gritters do manage to do everything (cycle paths first, then the roads). It’s really not such a big deal if it’s organised and properly funded. Take a look at the pictures.

  Peter Downes wrote @ February 19, 2009 at 8:37 pm

The Head of one of the primary schools in my division wrote as follows:

Peter,

I believe you are our local councillor and in this respect would ask you to propose the gritting of Newtown Lane as and when the weather dictates. Our school (Overhills C P School) is situated at the end of Newtown Lane, Kimbolton which is off Station Road the main route to Catworth and the A14. The school coach for Longsands College parks in our car park each morning/afternoon to pick up/set down the Kimbolton children who attend that school.

Over the last two days Newtown Lane has been in a treacherous condition with snow and ice. The school coach, which must reverse in/out of our car park is having particular difficulty. This together with our parents who bring their children, by car to Overhills from many of the surrounding villages, including ‘over the border’ from Bedfordshire and Northants have supported us in keeping the school open but they have been alarmed that Newtown Lane has not been gritted.

I would be grateful if you could help us resolve this problem.

Regards

  Emma Bell wrote @ March 10, 2009 at 12:49 pm

Before Christmas I came off my bike and hurt myself badly enough to report my accident to the council. It happened on the wooden bridge on Stourbridge Common which becomes trecherous in the rain, frost, ice, dark, snow etc. I know of several other people who have had similar accidents whilst using these bridges.
So when the snow arrived in February I decided there was absolutley no point in trying to cycle, I walked instead – on the trecherous pavements.
I appreciate and like the fact the Cambridge has so many cycle paths, but with the amount of bikes that use them surely the council should be doing something to improve safety.

  Michaela wrote @ March 11, 2009 at 11:13 am

I cycle in to Cambridge from Cherry Hinton along the Tins foot/cycle path. It’s tricky to negotiate at the best of times as it is narrow and very bumpy. It is also very shady and the snow (which quickly became a sheet of ice) took about 5 days to clear.

The worst bit however, is the very steep bridge that goes over the railway line. I came across a man, 3 days after the snow, who had come off his bike trying to get up the bridge. He had a trailer on the back with a child in and couldn’t get enough grip on the ice to pull himself up off the ground let alone his bike and trailer. It took both of us to pull his bike over the bridge.

After that I started carry salt around to grit the areas that still hadn’t cleared.

  Sylvia wrote @ March 13, 2009 at 3:57 pm

If footpaths and cycle paths were cleared straight after snow fall then they would not be treacherous for so long with compacting through use and alternate melting and freezing.
But it is not just snow and ice that are treacherous to cyclists. In November I had to call an ambulance for a child whose bike slipped on wet leaves on Gresham Road. Then just a week later a colleague broke her collar bone when she came off her bike on Trumpington Road.
This is supposed to be Cycle City! But the cycle paths are in a very poor state.