Councillors call for more resources to grit Mayo’s roads

There have been calls for villages and communities to be provided with proper gritting facilities ahead of the winter.

The comments were made at last week's meeting of Mayo County Council's Roads and Sustainable Travel strategic policy committee (SPC) during a discussion on the upcoming winter maintenance programme. 

Cllr Damien Ryan accepted that while not every road in the country can be treated, villages must be left with the appropriate resources for the winter months.

“It is not down to a cost of product, it is down to the capacity to do stuff. It is is impossible to treat every road in the county, we have to be practical and realistic about it.

“Everybody accepts that every road won’t be done, but that the heavy traffic roads and the prominent roads are the ones that get priority."

Cllr Ryan praised the lorry drivers for travelling on untreated roads through the winter, saying it was "a heroic effort". He called on the local authority to make smaller gritters available around towns and villages.

“They provide valuable assistance when things are extremely bad," he said, adding that the council needs to make sure that all of the necessary machinery is in "practical mechanical order if the situation arises". 

"It is not until the need is there that you find out there is something wrong with a spinner or a belt on one of them.” 

Cllr Richard Finn said it is unfair for bus drivers to be expected to drive on roads that are not treated. 

“I think it is very unfair to expect bus drivers to carry 20,30, 40 or 50 children on school buses on roads that are not fit for purpose.

“The Department of Education should have a bit of a say here. If there is dangerous weather, the Department of Education has a duty to allow schools to close when danger is imminent.

“It is the essential services that need priority treatment. We are going to be faced this winter again with storms and fallen trees, those are dangers also that have to be looked at.” 

Former councillor Christy Hyland, who is also a member of the SPC, said closing schools created major disruption for parents. He suggested that children could be picked up from different areas during dangerous weather to avoid buses going on untreated roads, adding that there needed to be coordination between the schools and bus companies.

“Coordinate the situation that the road is gritted for a certain distance for the bus to drive on. The children could then be asked to walk a certain distance to a minor or major road.

“There should be an agreement that the bus routes are gritted, that the economy in the county can carry on, schools can stay open, that you would have priority for public transport and school buses.”

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.