 
Blackpool Council provides a winter service in order to facilitate a safer travelling environment for all highway users and to minimize disruption to road users especially where this may have a negative economic impact.
The winter maintenance service is available throughout the year but is put on standby from the first week of November to the last week of March, this standby period is denoted ‘Operation Snowdrop’.
How does the Council know when to start gritting?
Staff within the Streetscene team regularly monitor weather reports from October onwards to prepare for any cold weather.
Every day the team receives a weather forecast from the Met Office and by late afternoon a decision is made whether or not to send the gritters out to spread salt.
The forecast we receive includes a graph, which shows predicted road surface temperatures each hour for the next 24 hours and a description of the weather expected over that period.
Sensors embedded in the road surface constantly monitor weather and the road conditions.
We use that information to check if conditions are getting worse or better, so we can react to changes in the weather. This monitoring continues night and day.
Which roads are gritted?
Blackpool Council has comprised a primary salting network and secondary salting network.
Salt is spread on the highway following warnings of low temperatures. The purpose of the salt is to reduce the likelihood of ice forming on the road. The Council does not have the resources to treat all roads in the Borough.
Selected roads have been classified ‘primary’ or ‘secondary’;
- Primary route roads are treated within four hours of being notified of potentially hazardous conditions
- Secondary route roads are treated during particularly severe or hazardous conditions, at the discretion of the winter service manager.
How does salt work?
Ice starts to form and snow starts to settle when the surface temperature of the road drops below zero.
When salt is spread it has the effect of lowering the freezing point of any water, thus helping to prevent the road from becoming icy.
Salt must be spread onto the road surface before the road becomes icy or snow starts to fall. This is known as precautionary salting.
How is the salt spread?
There are nine salting routes and it takes a maximum of two hours per route. The whole town can be gritted within eight hours. Primary routes are treated within four hours of being notified of potentially dangerous conditions.
It's a bit more difficult when rain is forecast to continue right up to the time of freezing or rain is forecast to turn to snow. The gritters must wait until the rain has stopped or the salt will be washed away and therefore have no effect.
So in that sort of weather it may not be possible to spread salt on all of the roads included in the gritting routes before the rain freezes or the snow starts to settle.
If the time of salt spreading coincides with rush hour, such as going to work or returning home times, the gritters may become delayed in traffic.
How many gritting machines does the council have?
The council has four gritting machines with de-mountable ploughs for snowy conditions. Motorists often comment that they haven’t seen the gritters on the road but this is because a lot of the work takes place through the night.
Can residents requests roads and pavements to be gritted?
Unfortunately there just isn’t enough salt to spread on every road and pavement in Blackpool. We try to ensure that access is maintained to key transport routes and vital services such as doctors and schools.
There are a number of grit bins located around the town which are filled on a regular basis to enable people to grit their own roads and pavements.
We encourage people to help out their neighbours especially those who are vulnerable and elderly during cold weather to ensure they are able to access essential services.
Where are salt bins placed?
If you would like to see a map of salt bin locations click here
Can sand from the beach be used to grit the roads?
In early 2010 when salt stocks across the country ran out we considered every option to keep the roads and pavements safe. While the sand off the beach could be used on the pavements it’s not suitable to use on the roads. The gritting vehicles we use are designed for use with rock salt and do not work effectively with other substances. In addition to that we do not have the facility to sift the sand and therefore we could be in a position stones and pebbles could be spread onto the road which could cause a hazard.
Gritting myths
Once the gritter has put salt on the road all the ice will melt
- This is NOT TRUE. Spreading salt on the road is only the start of the de-icing process. Movement and crushing of the salt around the road by traffic is essential to complete the de-icing process. Overnight, when traffic volumes are much lower, roads can remain icy for some time and may continue to remain icy until the morning rush hour.
Spreading salt on fresh snow will melt the snow quickly
- This is NOT TRUE. Salt only effectively melts snow when the snow is less than 40mm deep and traffic can move the salt around. It is essential to plough fresh snow to a depth of 40mm before spreading salt, to provide an effective treatment.
No matter what the temperature salt will melt the ice.
- This is NOT TRUE. In the concentrations used on the highway salt does not melt ice below -9oC and its effectiveness for de-icing significantly decreases below -5oC.
Gritting facts
- The Council has four gritting machines.
- The majority of gritting takes place over night
- Salt is spread at 10 grams per square metre for a frost warning.
- Salt can be spread at up to 20 grams per square metre for a snow warning.
- Salt lowers the freezing point of water and is not very effective on top of ice or snow.
- Each time the primary and secondary routes are gritted it uses 30 tonnes of rock salt.
- Approximately 450 -500 tonnes of salt are spread on the borough’s roads during the average winter.
- Last year the roads were gritted on 41 occasions of which 23 of these were between 16 December 2009 and 14 January 2010.
Top tips for icy conditions
- If you are removing snow from your footpath it is easier to move fresh, loose snow. So if possible, start removing the snow and ice in the morning. If you remove the top layer of snow in the morning, any sunshine during the day will help melt any ice beneath.
- If you’ve managed to clear the path cover it with salt to stop it refreezing over night. You can use ordinary table or dishwasher salt, a tablespoon for each square metre.
- If you use water to melt the snow, it may refreeze and turn to black ice which can be dangerous.
- When walking on snow take short steps and keep your centre of gravity underneath you.
- Keep your hands free using a shoulder bag where possible
- Only use well lit areas.
Follow Blackpool Council on Facebook.com/bpoolcouncil or on Twitter.com/bpoolcouncil and search for #bpoolgrit to keep track of when we're out
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