Snow warning in London: check your borough’s road gritting plans

When the Met Office uses phrases like “bitterly cold” and “widespread ice” and the symbols on their maps turn light blue, you know winter has come to London.

Well… It certainly has snowed, and it is quite cold, but otherwise London has escaped the high winds and flood warnings afflicting other parts of the country.  Roads and pavements may however still be slippery.

Local councils who are only responsible for gritting council-owned roads say they were well prepared for the big freeze.  See below for details of borough gritting plans.

HACKNEY:

Hackney Council says it prioritises roads according to expected traffic levels with the busiest streets gritted first.
This is done “outside of peak traffic times and before freezing conditions occur”. The council says it has also installed around 50 “grit bins” in places not reached by gritting lorries or snow ploughs.They are free for anyone to use and are regularly restocked with salt.

TOWER HAMLETS:

Tower Hamlets grit most of the roads within the council borders, but leave major roads including the A13 and A12 to TfL.
The council encourages its residents to “be good neighbours” and clear ice and snow in front of their houses.
If you need to speak to someone regarding icy roads, the council has provided a Streetline number to call: 020 7364 5004.

Road gritting maps can be downloaded below.

Gritted roads. (.pdf-file opens in a new window)

Gritted footways. (.pdf-file opens in a new window)

LEWISHAM:

Lewisham Road Gritting Map

Lewisham road gritting map. Pic: Lewisham Council.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As in the case of other boroughs, Lewisham council is not responsible for major roads that fall under TfL. This includes the A2, A21, and South Circular.
Lewisham’s road gritting schedule is prioritised to account for traffic. If you notice a dangerous road or footpath because of ice or snow, you are encouraged to contact the council online.

CROYDON:

Croydon Council told Eastlondonlines that 240 km of road (about 30% of the borough’s roads) are salted, when weather conditions require it.

Croydon prioritises ‘A’ or ‘B’ roads, main bus routes, approaches to rail stations and fire, police or ambulance centres and steep gradients.

Gritting normally starts at either 5am or 7pm, unless there is a ‘gritting emergency’ in which case gritting will take place immediately. This may cause delays in road traffic.

Like Hackney’s “grit bins”, there are “salt bins” in Croydon, but they are not to be used in private driveways.

Maps of gritted roads and the location of “salt bins” can be found here.

 

You can follow Niels Jakob on Twitter.

Leave a Reply