Whilst Haringey Council has an understandable policy of main roads and hills being the number 1 priority for gritting in weather like this – and then secondary roads – what about the rest of us?
On their website, you can see the lists of roads in their number 1 and number 2 priority – then a notice saying something to the effect that the bad weather doesn’t usually last long enough to get any further than that.
Well – like lots of local people – my road is sheet ice and Haringey doesn’t come my way. It’s a cul-de-sac so obviously of no interest as no through traffic – but we still have older people who cannot get out of their house because of the danger of falling.
You can ring the Haringey switchboard on 0208 489 0000 and ask for road gritting and when they put you through they will promise to come in a few hours – according to posts here. You can ‘phone the direct number 0208 885 7700 and hang on forever (still trying) to see if you can get the gritters down your way. We just have to keep trying and trying and trying.
Everyone understands priority roads and how hard the gritters must have worked to keep the main roads free of ice – but for the rest of us poor sods – when the freeze lasts as this one has – our roads are lethal. This isn’t a matter of expecting small side roads to be done overnight – but come on Haringey – this was well-predicted and has been going on since Thursday night.
For anyone with mobility problems – who needs to go out of their house – this is urgent.
Lynne Featherstone 
Yep…. we are also in a cul-de-sac… on a hill and they have done nothing here…. people with cars have sometimes had to give up trying to get up the hill…. and the paths…. forget those… the paths next to colney hatch lane going down the hill towards the north circular after the alexender park road junction have been terrible, old people walking in the road rather then falling over…. another example of why haringey are at the bottom of the pile in terms of councils…. They simply don’t care…
Dear Lynne. How about a bit of community action organising? The inhabitants in your cul-de-sac, armed with shovels, brooms and a sack of salt could soon solve the problem of access for the infirm. I assume that you have already organised a “Good Neighbour” rota to make sure nobody is running out of essential food and heat? In the country, where temperatures are invariably 2 degrees lower than in conurbations, we’re used to this.
This is timely as I have just slithered along to Bounds Green station contemplating contacting my councillors. It is about time some priority was be given to the pavements and to pedestrians. After 4 days to still have icy pavements is not very good. The council don’t need to do both sides of the road if cost is an issue but at least make some sort of effort. A slide in a car on an icy side road is likely to end up with a dents and scratches, a fall on the ice could lead to broken bones.
Now it’s 14.30 and it’s raining – and whilst the rain seems to be clearing the lesser covered streets of ice and snow – my road is now soggy ice which I fear will turn to solic ice as the temperature drops later. If the rain carries on and the temperature stays above freezing – maybe it will stay passable.
Just back in Crouch End after walking (and falling on my backside 4 times!!!) all the way from Finsbury Park. Thought that London had learned from last years snow in February – but apparently not.
Has anyone seen any gritters out this year?
After last post the snow fell and fell and fell. Had (like everyone else in London) nightmare jouney home – from Piccadilly. One daughter missing without mobile phone for hours – but she eventually got home. Road now completely stuffed. Have a feeling that Haringey is not going to come riding over hill like the cavalry!
Amazingly this morning at about 10:30 they arrived, a truck with half a dozen men shoving the grit down…. and then i realised why 10 minutes later…. it was so the dustmen could come and do the bins….
Does anyone know if they have gritted Southwood Avenue N6 today?
I had to abandon my car there last night as several cars had tried to go down the hill and had crashed into parked cars. When I contacted Haringey I was told that they would request gritting but could not give me any idea about when or even which day this would be done.
I grew up in the north of the UK. There were grit bins dotted around the estates which were filled in November. If it snowed, you got up of your backside and gritted the paths and roads around your house and your neighbours houses. Cost effective, responsive and efficient.
I live in Hornsey Lane and all of the emergency vehicles use this road daily as does the W5 bus but it’s not been gritted at all.
Also the pavements are treacherous to walking or skating specially since
the kerbs are more like ice rinks.
I’ve contacted some of the LibDem local councillors
I live on a very steep hill and phoned Haringey Council four times, was given two job numbers and still they did not grit the road!! I explained that I had seen cars skidding backwards into stationery vehicles and was worried if there was going to be a serious accident and still they did not grit the road!!
I live on a council estate in Ridge Road, Stroud Green with a steep car-park drive-way which often means that Residents are unable to get their cars out when there is ice/snow.
A couple of years ago we were supplied with much needed salt bins. Unfortunately these are not filled with salt! I requested salt for them on the 18th December and was advised by our estate services manager that salt had been ordered but the bins are still empty and I understand that we can expect more icy conditions next week.
The gritters did come to us on the 23rd December, and from an email I received, this was organised by Kieron King, Street Cleaning Manager for Enterprise, kieron.king@enterprise.plc.uk and Chris Collings, Contract Monitoring Manager, Environmental Resources, chris.collings@haringey.gov.uk.
Regards
Catrina Zahoor
CCRA, Secretary
Catrina – well done. And thanks to all who have given details. I also emailed my list to ask about situation road to road. I will report all the individual roads brought to my attention. I’ve suggested to Robert Gorrie (LibDem Group council leader – and hopefully after next elections in May – Council Leader) that we need a plan both for what the Council can do in terms of side roads, but also what we can do as a community (if given the material) to help ourselves. More of this later.
Lynne, I have just been looking at the Haringey Council’s website about their
“Priorities” for gritting and most of the roads mentioned in this discussion/blog
are classed as No 1 which seems odd to me considering what didn’t happen
during the days that we had the snow and ice.
Although I hope that if there is more snow or ice this winter that the
gritting dpt will do their said job.
I’m cynical so I doubt it.
Sally – thanks for that – well spotted. If that is the case – then I will check all the roads that people have sent into me (loads and loads) against that priority list on the Haringey website – because if they aren’t even doing the priority 1 roads – that is beyond the pale. I had assumed that their priority 1 and priority 2 roads were done – and it was about planning and helping the side roads. But clearly not. If the snow does come again this week – we should keep a watch on which roads are done at what stage.
And Helena – which road are you on – that you phoned four times and they didn’t come – because with a hill you should be in the priority groupings surely?
You’ll love this…. it’s 2 degrees outside, 1.05 am new years day and they have just gritted our road with a proper gritting lorry…. the same run they couldn’t do in the snow
Denise I’m glad that your road was gritted, but yet again Hornsey Lane
was ignored and it looks like a layer of snow. Although it’s classed in the
Haringey gritting list as Priority 1.
Although I’ve emailed LibDem councillors, who’ve forwarded my emails onto
to Environmental/gritting dpts and the senior complaints officer.
Hopefully it does not snow again over-night.