Roads in Winter

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I've been fortunate enough to compare the standard of East Ayrshire council's handling of the roads in Kilmarnock with that of North Lanarkshire. And have to say, as an East Ayrshire resident we are getting a very raw deal.

During the recent snow a lot of people had problems on both pavements and roads in and around Kilmarnock, the response from the Roads department was - we are concentrating on main roads (didn't do a good job of that till mother nature lent a hand). The Roads department went on to say that no they were not doing scheme's and they would definately not be filling grit bins.

I can only say in North Lanarkshire the main roads, "scheme's" and pavements were cleared of snow and the dreaded ice.

Government tells us that we should not have gas guzzling 4 x 4's, it's bad for the environment. When we get stuck becuase of weather we are told 'Fend for yourselves, it's what we used to do in day's gone by.'

As individuals we don't have the tools to clear the roads and pavements outwith our own immediate homes, we pay taxes into a pot so groups like government and councils can do this for us.

Commerce in Kilmarnock is suffering, shouldn't the people with equipment get the roads and pavements functioning and not just give us excuses every year. You know the one "We are working Very Hard!"

When you got to the polls in the New Year don't forget to get a straight answer from the politicos -- get our services up to scratch with other areas... And don't be fobbed off when they tell you "You've Never Had It So Good!!!!"

[Sasha]

Totally agree about the disgraceful state of our roads and pavements and so do many of my colleagues, some say they haven't had their bins emptied due as bin lorries can't get up their streets, other. I heard that east ayrshire had no grit left due to bad housekeeping, funny how all the fat cats at the top of the tree had a good christmas..........................................

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Quote from John Bryson in the paper and a few things don't add up:

John Bryson, heads of roads for East Ayrshire Council, says it has been the toughest conditions he has seen in 20 years.

Mr Bryson said: “Our gritters have been out 24 hours a day.

“We’re putting out up to 500 tonnes of salt a day in East Ayrshire alone.

“In total we’ve put down about 2500 tonnes in the past week.

“And that is a lot considering that in an average winter we put down between 6000 to 8000 tonnes.”

John there are 7 day's in a week, if your gritting 500 ton a day and your gritters are out 24 hours a day, does this mean that they are only out for 5 day's a week? What do you suggest we do at the weekend John? I'd also like to know how much 'grit' one of these machines carries, this can give us a better idea of just how mant machines are on the road...

Secondly John, as you point out, this weather is the toughest it has been in 20 years. Why on earth John can you justify comparing what you have done so fare with the 'average' winter you refer to. Did you not open your statement John by saying this is not 'average' weather.

I think John Bryson probably is doing the best job he can with the resources he has. I don't blame Mr Bryson for not gritting my street like the local council where my dad lives does. I do think John that you should try and double talk us, it's bad enough when your political masters do that. Tell the truth John it's an exceptional year and your not prepared for it. For 20 years you have not put anything away for 'a rainy day.' Or in this case a little bit of snow.

Still not happy with the way this is panning out....

Have a Happy New Year folks. And please be careful on the pavements -- it's still icy out there...

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Just heard from a source that John Bryson has said grit supplies have run out and they are awaiting a delivery of 500 tonnes. But apparently we need 800 tonnes to keep just the main roads open?

Can someone tell me the truth here, is it 500 or 800 ton to keep the roads open. And if that's just the main roads how much will it take to clear ALL the roads, I don't think they want me to use the word scheme's. I saw an old man in Bonnyton just recently take a tumble on the ice, so we need to consider how much grit we need to do the paths as well.

This will cost more money, sadly. Though here's the good news, because this is not 'average' weather we should only have to pay the extra money once every, what did they say 20 years in our council tax? Suppose they could try and divide that by the number of tax payers in East Ayrshire then divide that by 20 years to see how much that comes to for each of us a year. I'm sure there are some primary schools that could work that figure out for our councils.

We all want the economy of Kilmarnock to prosper and give us a good standard and place to live. When we go to the town centres we don't want to see 'Closing down sales.' More charity or pound shops. In order to do this we have to be confident in our paths or roads and confident that we can get to our places of work. At all times of the year.

Some business have been closed for the past two weeks, some people have also had to struggle to get to work over the last few weeks. Today, most people will have gone back to work and what state is the district in? Not a pretty good one I can tell you.

We can now say this winter is a lost cause, the weather won this time. But it's up to the voting, tax paying public to hold our public officals to account. If they either cannot do the job or are unwilling to be honest with us and tell us what the cost is -- Then send them a message, send them to the job centre. Because if they can't do the job I think East Ayrshire deserves people that can do the job.

And to the Kilmarnock Standard I say is it reporters you have or telesales people working in your office. Start bringing these people who are running our local services, not just in the Winter but all year, to account. Don't let them hide behind satements like "not an average year." Or "the whole country is snowed in." (no it isn't by the way).

Don't forget when the snow first started no one cleared your street in East Ayrshire. I know because I was there and all I got from the roads department and the council were the stock excuses. Why after 3 weeks haven't you seen someone clearing your street?

You can tell I'm not happy with this... I'm off to watch my blood pressure now...