Stop-start buses lead to confusion at schools
Wednesday 6th January 2010, 2:30PM GMT.
Li Yuan Bound, 8, arrived at school early today with mum Elaine to find out it was closed due to the bad weather. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0897907)
GUERNSEY was plunged into chaos this morning – even though less than half an inch of snow fell overnight.
Schools and bus services played an on-off game with parents and commuters as conflicting messages were broadcast from 6am.
Island Coachways had to retract the initial advice it had given at 7am that all school buses would be running.
By 8am the company announced that none would be operating and no buses, apart from a shuttle between Town and the Bridge, would be available.
The Education Department then followed suit and had to re-advise islanders that all States schools would be shut, despite the thousands of parents left at the last minute to find alternative childcare for the day.
Blanchelande Girls’ College and the College of Further Education were also closed, but Elizabeth and Ladies’ colleges and Melrose remained open.
The problem was caused by Guernsey’s refusal to use salt on the roads to melt black ice, which caused treacherous conditions and a number of reported accidents and near misses. Jersey, by contrast, was last night spreading salt on its roads to prevent icing.
Police this morning said that they would attend collisions only where there were injuries and were adopting ‘a common sense approach’ to illegally parked vehicles.
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I am reading this article with interest. Why is Guernsey ‘refusing’ to spread salt on the roads to deal with black ice? Does anyone know if there is valid reason? I wonder how many accidents may have been avoided this morning had they done so?
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I beleive the reason they don’t spread salt is that it would contaminate our supplies of drinking water.
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ELM – I heard it is because the salt would contaminate the water supply.
Is this correct?
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I may be wrong but I think that salt isn’t used on the roads because it may enter streams etc and end up poluting the drinking water.
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The reason Guernsey roads are not treated with salt is the water run off from the roads all becomes part of the water table. Nearly all of the island is a water catchment area therefore, salt would polute the water
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ELM,
My knowledge is certainly not expert in this area, but I understand that salt is not used because of the potential for contamination within the water catchment area, which comprises very large parts of the island.
I should think the Public Services Department would be able to give you a more expert answer instantly.
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I think if you believe that, you’ll believe any excuse the Guernsey States gives where it has not undertaken the proper course of action.
Roads need to be gritted/salted in freezing conditions
Raw sewage has to be treated before being pumped out to sea
A land fill site has to be properly lined
Disclosure of information and accountability – one cannot ignore the findings of the Welsh audit office. (purchase of two oil/gas ships??)
The list goes on.
Roads need to be gritted for safety reasons, from walking the sidewalks to commuter traffic. The system needs to adapt and accommodate these requirements, not ignore them.
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What about using sand there is plenty of that around!
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Why are ppl not using snow chains like they used too.
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I think the idea of not using salt to deal with ice is one of the worst.
The excuse they use that it would contaminate drinking water is unbelieveable. Noone is worried about other natural sources contaminating drinking water, as the water that comes out the tap is treated. The salt that other countries use is not actually chemical, but what they call “rocksalt”, which is a natural substance.
Surely there is a treatment to remove salt from the water is available, and it would make accidents less likely to happen, and help a lot of people get to work / school / doctor’s appointments, etc and would make winter and snow more enjoyable
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Glad there is a reason and a good one at that :) For my info does anyone know why that it is different in Jersey? What are they doing that we are not?
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They can’t grit ice either, it’d be a waste of money and wouldn’t do an anything. Can only use grit on snow.
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Yes Anna nor is seawater a chemical but I would not want to drink that, Yes and those who remember the desalination plant at St Sampsons will remember it was closed because it was to expensive to run.
Jaro you are talking a load of rubbish.
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Can anyone explain why Jersey and the UK are able to salt their roads – despite being as dependent on the “water table” as we are??
GG – Of course you can grit ice. It’s simple mechanics. Grit meets ice, grit gets compacted into ice by traffic, ice shreds, grit provides grip. Gritting. Done.
Do we still have those huge grit bins lurking around the major hills? I’m reminded of the one at the bottom of the Rohais near the golf course entrance that was for exactly this purpose….??
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Salt cannot be used to prevent any slippery surfaces because water run-off could get into streams and water courses and affect water supplies.
Roads cannot be immediately gritted in the morning because the snow has to be at least 1in (2.5cm) deep and compacted to have any effect. If you grit on top of soft snow it goes straight through and the grit will be underneath and therefore useless
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I heard the news last night & the guy from States Works said that we cant treat the roads as it is a waste of money for something that would be sat idle for most of the time… What – like purchasing 2 tanker ships?? Give me a break!!!
One day the ice on the roads is going to cause a serious accident & kill someone – I dont expect the States to act then either unless it is one of their own that is killed…
It pains me to say it but even JERSEY have got it right!! How backwards are we as an island that we dont treat out roads for ice – we just sit back & hope no-one gets hurt while people that are not experianced in these conditions are let loose with a lethal machine on a road?!
Peoples lives are at stake here – & our States departments (THAT ARE FUNDED BY US!!!!) will not purchase equipment that can save lives – I guess the States Works dept would rather spend their budget growing flowers for the roundabout or something… better still – grow flowers for the graves of people they may kill, as any death on the roads in these icy conditions is on their hands…
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@Student Bob, yes but it’s a costly measure, it works far better on snow.
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In reply to John.
Everything is a chemical.
I think many of you who are wondering what the impact is heavy usage of various alkali metal chlorides to salt roads will like to read this article.
http://www.newyorkwater.org/downloadedArticles/ENVIRONMENTANIMPACT.cfm
Some of the reasons they warn about excessive salting is simply the taste of tap water and increase in corrosion of cars. Now we all know the tap water taste quality of Guernsey isn’t great, so the addition of more alkali ions isn’t going to deteriorate that much further. Plus cars and other outside metal objects, such as BBQs etc, rust away much quicker in the coastal environment of Guernsey than elsewhere.
The impact of a few days salting will have a negligible effect. The quantities of salt used in Canada and northern US states is enormous and will have taken many years to see any side effects from salting roads.
For the sake of getting people to work, I see no harm in the use of salt for the short periods required. Consider all the other effluents that run into the water table throughout the year? Hydrocarbons (oils and fuels), soil and silt, and sea water itself!
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Instead of wasting money on gritting and for the 3 days every 10 years that you need it you could just enjoy the duvet day,
catch a bus
or as there is nowhere that could not be reached on foot in an hour or so you could just walk?
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How can Jersey use rocksalt to keep ice from their roads, and we can’t?? Surely they have water catchment as well.
Is this another case of money?
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Proper Paulie has a good point. Take a snow day, stay at home and play Assassins Creed II with your toddler.
After all, it’s not like we have exactly this same situation year after year….
http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2009/02/03/its-another-day-of-snow-chaos/
http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2008/12/31/salt-on-roads-would-put-water-at-risk/
http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2005/02/28/confusion-as-schools-open-and-then-close/
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Nice comment column today (Friday). Was wondering when someone would notice that when the airport is closed by firefighters Supertrott’s emergency powers are deployed full blast.
But those same powers are seemingly useless against a foe as mighty as Guernsey Water.
I understand the argument about salting wide areas of Guernsey but surely the airport runway could be the exception?
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Because of course we all know that stuff thrown on the runway won’t end up in the water supply and cause a huge fuss don’t we …
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Could States Works salt and grit just the critical crossroads and inclines which are on Bus routes?
Would this contaminate anything? For the No.7 & 7A Bus this must make sense: it’s so coastal the run-off can hardly drain into a reservoir.
Each time the buses are forced not to run, bus users find alternatives. Each time those alternatives work, bus user loyalty goes down.
How are people of goodwill supposed to increase bus use when States Works are living in “all or nothing” blinkers?
More debate on this at http://www.bug.gg
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