Grit your own road scheme proposed by Conway

A new countywide gritting scheme for minor county roads manned by volunteers in local communities would significantly reduce the number of people who are left housebound during a freeze-up Councillor Martin Conway claimed this week.

Councillor Conway has urged Clare County Council to introduce a new scheme to provide the necessary training for willing volunteers who could salt roads and footpaths in their own area when ice and frost make routes impassable.
Acknowledging that issues concerning insurance and public liability would have to be resolved, the Ennistymon councillor stressed a new approach was needed considering the unprecedented weather conditions, which left hundreds of people throughout North Clare and other parts of the county stranded in their own homes.
“Council staff worked around the clock to make roads safer but they haven’t enough resources to tackle this problem on a countywide basis. There was a great community response during the recent flooding and a similar structured response by 10 trained volunteers in each parish who would be prepared to grit roads in their area with council materials would make a huge difference,” he said.
Clare County Council senior engineer, Tom Tiernan, confirmed that the council had seven gritters and one standby machine that were operated by a dedicated staff of between 20 and 25 for the county salting strategy on the main roads throughout the Christmas period.
Acknowledging that minor and country roads were also affected during the recent freezing conditions, Mr Tiernan stressed the council had to prioritise its salting strategy because of limited resources and could only consider other locations in exceptional circumstances.
Noting that some roads were in a treacherous condition, Mr Tiernan said a number of its vehicles were damaged. He said that the council could consider Councillor Conway’s proposal once he presented it at future meeting.