Harrogate Borough Council
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Gritting
Agency Area
We provide the winter gritting service in the urban areas of Harrogate and Knaresborough on behalf of the County Council (see map). North Yorkshire County Council deal directly with the rest of the District.
Met Office Forecasts
All our operations are forecast led. We are completely dependent on the quality of the forecast to pre-empt bad weather situations by pre-treatment of the road network with salt.
Highway Service
The service to the public highway network is maintained
as the highest priority to ensure the safety of pedestrians,
motorists and especially emergency vehicles.
Priorities
Priorities
The first priority for treatment is the classified road
network (the 'A' and 'B' roads). The second
priority routes consist of bus routes, main estates roads and other
streets serving important public locations such as hospitals and
schools.
Other residential streets are then treated in priority order
taking into account usage and steep hills.
Residential cul-de-sacs receive treatment only after the remainder
of the road network is safe for traffic movement.
In addition to this we provide 250 salt bins throughout the Harrogate & Knaresborough area for the general public to use on the carriageways and footways.
In addition to this we provide 250 salt bins throughout the Harrogate & Knaresborough area for the general public to use on the carriageways and footways.
Salt Bin
Locations (320Kb)
Vehicles and Plant
There are 5 bulk gritters, 3 Econ Tip Grits and 5 Footpath
Tractors, and all this plant is serviced during the summer months
in preparation for the winter season.
Other Areas
Work on private areas outside the highway is always referred
to local contractors, and requests for the private provision of
salt are referred to local builders' merchants .
Season
The full system operates from the beginning of November to the
end of March. Outside these times a partial
system is available for unseasonal conditions.
Snow Clearing
Traffic congestion inevitably becomes a major problem when
heavy snowfall coincides with peak traffic
flows. The Priority 1 (A Class Roads) are the
first to be ploughed and gritted using a fleet of eight
vehicles. If snow continues to lie, other
streets are cleared in priority order taking account of bus routes,
hills, hospitals, schools and other local needs.
Parked cars on residential streets cause considerable problems to wide snow ploughs. Motorists are requested, wherever possible, to park off the road when snow is expected.
Road Gritting
The map shows the Priority routes of the highway
network. These roads are pre-gritted in response
to a Met Office warning of icy road
conditions.
The fleet of gritting vehicles undertakes the work covering a
total distance in excess of 100 miles. The
target time for completion is two hours and the normal time of
operations is between 6pm and 8pm.
Salting is carried out in the main to prevent frost and ice forming
on the road surfaces. It is the road surface
temperature and whether the road is wet or dry which determines the
course of action to be taken, rather than the air
temperature. So, although you might think a day
is cold enough that the roads should be salted, the roads could
have retained enough heat to make it unnecessary.
Footway Treatment
In conditions of serious icing and snow a fleet of five
footway tractors with gritting trailers is called into
action.
Footways are treated in a priority order with town centre streets being the first priority and the busiest suburb to town footways as second priority. If snow continues to lie on footways further resources are called on to eventually enable the majority of footways to be treated.
Footways are treated in a priority order with town centre streets being the first priority and the busiest suburb to town footways as second priority. If snow continues to lie on footways further resources are called on to eventually enable the majority of footways to be treated.
Environmental Care
Road salt is an extremely useful commodity, but salt washed
off roads into rivers and streams is damaging to aquatic
life. Verge grass adjacent to roads suffers
damage, and trees can have their lives shortened by salt
spray.
In recent years approx 5000 tonnes of salt has been used in an average Winter in Harrogate and Knaresborough.
To respond to this the Council has constructed a salt barn at Claro Road. This means that dry salt is now used on the roads. Dry salt is more controllable for spreading through the gritters and in future we expect to reduce the amount used by 50% and substantially reduce environmental damage.
In recent years approx 5000 tonnes of salt has been used in an average Winter in Harrogate and Knaresborough.
To respond to this the Council has constructed a salt barn at Claro Road. This means that dry salt is now used on the roads. Dry salt is more controllable for spreading through the gritters and in future we expect to reduce the amount used by 50% and substantially reduce environmental damage.
Weather Reports
The Borough Council is linked in to the Met Office "Icecast"
computerised forecasting system. Information is
gathered from a series of road sensors throughout the region and
this is combined with the Met Office forecast.
The result is a Met Office forecast prediction of Road Surface
Temperatures and the risk of ice formation or snow settling on all
roads throughout North Yorkshire.
A forecast is normally received from the Met Office via our computer system at about 12.30pm each day. In severe or unpredictable conditions the Met Office provides more frequent forecasts and a consultation service
Information
The forecast and proposed action is sent by Email each day to the local radio stations and emergency services.
Drive Safely
When roads are icy or slushy: Drive slowly, allowing extra
time for slowing down and stopping.
Use the highest gear possible to avoid wheelspin and manoeuvre gently.
To avoid locking your wheels when braking on snow or ice, get into a lower gear early, allow your speed to fall and use the brake pedal gently.
If you do get into a skid, ease off the accelerator but do not
brake suddenly.
ALWAYS REMEMBER
Abandoned vehicles will cause problems for emergency vehicles
and snowploughs. Stay with your vehicle if at
all possible but, if you must leave it, then make sure it does not
form an obstruction.
Keep clear of snow clearing vehicles.
Don't attempt to overtake gritters - be patient and THINK!
Keep clear of snow clearing vehicles.
Don't attempt to overtake gritters - be patient and THINK!
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