Worthing Twitter users got up early this Sunday to do a job which is the responsibility of the Area Highways Office. If you live in Worthing you will know how dangerous the pavements have been and why so many people have ended up in Hospital since the snow fall on Thursday evening.
Why has nothing been done to grit the footpaths or even supply salt so people can help make the pavements safer? Is it the responsibility of the community to have to buy salt and grit to make public places safe these days? Perhaps this is the low budget ice rink Worthing has been talking about?
On the West Sussex County Council website they say “We cannot afford nor is it environmentally acceptable to treat every road in West Sussex, so our main priority is keeping the major routes treated and passable. These are generally restricted to all ‘A’ roads, most ‘B’ roads and other roads of local importance. Currently we treat about 40 per cent of the road network – well above national recommendations. Contact your local Area Highways Office if you have a problem.
Jacobs’s ladder which is the main railway footbridge at West Worthing was like an ice rink and had three cases of people falling down the steps. The most recent was a Twitter user who sent out the following message on Twitter early Sunday morning.
Please spread the word – community action 10am this morning in West Worthing, clearing the Jacob’s Ladder footbridge of dangerous ice #fb
Within minutes users of Twitter in Worthing started work on the West Worthing ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ footbridge to clear the paths and steps of dangerous ice.
This not only took over four hours of time but an investment of £40 to buy enough salt and grit to make it lose enough to sweep away, an investment that no one can afford at this time of the year. As the ice was three or four inches thick it was almost impossible to clear it with just shovels and it was clear highways were not going to turn up. People passed us on the footpath and made comments like it’s not fair you guys should be doing this and were also angry that many other pavements locally were just as dangerous, especially the town centre which was especially busy being the last Saturday leading up to Christmas.
Listen to the full story on Monday morning on the Vobes Show.
What was your street like this weekend? Please leave your comments.
Posted under Rant
This post is a Blogger on December 20, 2009
I could not believe the arrogance of WBC, to leave Montague Street in such a dangerous state,especially with the run up to Christmas was nothing less than wholly irresponsible, I witnessed several people falling over, It was truly upsetting to see people crying, bleeding and shocked due to falls, many people were voicing their anger at WBC, they should all hang their heads in shame, it will be interesting to see if any have the courage to apologise to the people of Worthing. (don’t hold your breath)
I live in Park Road, right next to Worthing hospital. The ice on the pavement outside our house and also round the corner beside Waitrose it absolutely awful, and I’ve walked past A&E twice int he last two days – it’s standing room only. According to my friend who works in the hospital only 2 cases yesterday evening were unrelated to the ice. This tells us two things: firstly, the council should be doing more to make the pavements safer; secondly, people should stop thinking they are immune to the effects of ice and walk more carefully or not go out at all.
I live on rowlands road in worthing and commute to brighton for work, as i am pregnant i have been unable to leave my home since friday due to the hazzardous icey pavements, i have tried and failed each morning and missed a total of 3 days from work, which i may not be paid for!
Footbridge cleared
A Tarring artist inspired a community de-icing of a railway footbridge after discovering the hard way how icy it was.
Dan Thompson was returning to his Lanfranc Road home on Saturday, December 19, when he slipped and fell down steps on Jacob’s Ladder, the footbridge between Tarring Road and Becket Road.
He invited volunteers to help him clear the bridge of the dangerous ice.
http://www.worthingherald.co.uk/worthing/VOTE-Worthing-gripped-by-ice.5934020.jp