Region hit by icy blast (From York Press)
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Region hit by icy blast
11:02am Tuesday 15th January 2013 in News
By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter
The snow adds a new dimension to some of York’s ancient buildings
MOTORISTS faced treacherous journeys in and around York today, with weathermen warning of widespread ice on any untreated roads.
About an inch of snow fell in York yesterday, with more in higher areas such as the Wolds, and forecasters said the bitterly cold weather was expected to continue for the rest of the week.
Temperatures in York are forecast to fall as low as -6 C tonight, and rise no higher than -2 tomorrow, although little additional snow is expected in the next few days.
York Liberal Democrat councillor Nigel Ayre claimed that 170 salt bins remained empty in the city yesterday because City of York Council did not consider the cold snap to be ‘severe’ weather.
Coun Ayre said he had asked for the empty salt bins to be refilled in his ward, Heworth Without, but he had been informed by officers that the current weather did not warrant this and the bins would remain empty overnight.
“With temperatures due to reach -6 and more snow forecast for later in the week, this is a risky move by the council,” he said.
“I am not sure how bad things have to get or how many residents need to fall over before they take action.”
But Coun David Levene, Labour’s cabinet member for environmental services, said: “In addition to all core salt bins being filled, should the weather become severe then action will be taken swiftly to get additional salt out to those areas most in need. Resident safety is important and we take the issue very seriously.”
A council spokeswoman said it planned to have gritters out on main roads in the city from 4am today, having been out on a full run yesterday afternoon, with tractors treating cycle paths and city centre footpaths.
She said the authority was well prepared for the big freeze, with about 2,700 tonnes of salt in stock out of a maximum capacity of 3,000 tonnes.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council said its 17-strong gritting fleet was sent out again yesterday evening to treat roads after the snow.
Several schools closed early in East and North Yorkshire yesterday because of the snow, including Driffield School, Warter primary, Langtoft primary and Barmby on the Marsh primary and several in the Dales, but no schools in York had to shut early.
Comments(41)
MrsHoney
says...
11:52am Tue 15 Jan 13
atorycouncil2014
says...
11:59am Tue 15 Jan 13
Seriously is this guy a comedy character!?!?!
Is he really saying a Met Office Severe warning is not severe enough to require salt bins to be filled.
Lets be honest they are never going to fill this bins and never had any intention to
bob the builder
says...
12:03pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Acomblady
says...
12:07pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Oncebitten
says...
12:20pm Tue 15 Jan 13
bob the builder wrote:Thats fine with me...off you trot to Germany...we don't need people like you !
It got to -0.2 last night and it's melting now. No wonder this country is the laughing stock of the world, rain and snow and England grinds to a halt! We would have been better off as German!
Mork
says...
12:21pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Mork
says...
12:22pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Oncebitten
says...
12:27pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Mork wrote:Sadly they did remove salt bins, but that was because they were misused and people were turning up with vans bags etc and filling them up...it's always the selfish minority spoiling for the things for the rest of us!
Wish we had a salt bin they took it away about 3 years ago and never brought it back
bolero
says...
12:29pm Tue 15 Jan 13
timcore
says...
12:32pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Garrowby Turnoff
says...
12:33pm Tue 15 Jan 13
atorycouncil2014
says...
12:34pm Tue 15 Jan 13
timcore wrote:I think it will take a little over a week for all the elderly residents to recover from the broken hips etc sustained as a result of falling while trying to get to the shops.
"Big freeze", "Killer freeze", "Arctic conditions". In a week when it's melted we'll be all "remember when we overreacted massively to perfectly normal winter weather? lol".
To often people just assume because they don't have a problem everyone else will be just fine.
timcore
says...
12:43pm Tue 15 Jan 13
atorycouncil2014 wrote:My point is that this country cannot deal with a tiny amount of snow and marginally sub-zero temperatures and we should take a long, hard look at ourselves.
timcore wrote:I think it will take a little over a week for all the elderly residents to recover from the broken hips etc sustained as a result of falling while trying to get to the shops.
"Big freeze", "Killer freeze", "Arctic conditions". In a week when it's melted we'll be all "remember when we overreacted massively to perfectly normal winter weather? lol".
To often people just assume because they don't have a problem everyone else will be just fine.
atorycouncil2014
says...
12:55pm Tue 15 Jan 13
timcore wrote:We probably could if the council actually filled the salt bins!
atorycouncil2014 wrote:My point is that this country cannot deal with a tiny amount of snow and marginally sub-zero temperatures and we should take a long, hard look at ourselves.
timcore wrote:I think it will take a little over a week for all the elderly residents to recover from the broken hips etc sustained as a result of falling while trying to get to the shops.
"Big freeze", "Killer freeze", "Arctic conditions". In a week when it's melted we'll be all "remember when we overreacted massively to perfectly normal winter weather? lol".
To often people just assume because they don't have a problem everyone else will be just fine.
I agree on your point more widely though
Buzz Light-year
says...
12:56pm Tue 15 Jan 13
No.
Still, don't let that stop people moaning and sniping.
ColdAsChristmas
says...
12:56pm Tue 15 Jan 13
In 2000, Dr David Vinner reported in the news that 'in a few years from now, children just won't know what snow is.'
13 years later........
If CofYC wait until conditions become severe before the remaining salt bins are refilled, they may just find they are snowed in and can't get out to do their duty.
These clowns are playing with the paying public's safety.
Also, No global warming since 1997!
smiler45
says...
1:22pm Tue 15 Jan 13
yorkborn66
says...
1:55pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Just no common sense at all, and I was in my BIG van with my headlights on.
YorkPatrol
says...
1:57pm Tue 15 Jan 13
bob the builder wrote:Which country's laugh at us?? - Please can you provide the actual evidence of this
It got to -0.2 last night and it's melting now. No wonder this country is the laughing stock of the world, rain and snow and England grinds to a halt! We would have been better off as German!
yorkborn66
says...
2:02pm Tue 15 Jan 13
YorkPatrol wrote:It would probably be harder to find countries that don’t laugh at us .
bob the builder wrote:Which country's laugh at us?? - Please can you provide the actual evidence of this
It got to -0.2 last night and it's melting now. No wonder this country is the laughing stock of the world, rain and snow and England grinds to a halt! We would have been better off as German!
YorkPatrol
says...
2:03pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Acomblady wrote:Really? An ice rink? Wow, that's incredible!
Wish our streets salt bin was filled. It was like an ice rink when I came home from work late last night and now we have fresh snow on top of the ice. Shame because we never see a gritting lorry
and fresh snow too.. on top of ice... I think I'm going to faint
Oncebitten
says...
2:12pm Tue 15 Jan 13
I haven't , as yet ,seen ANY evidence of us grinding to a halt.
It's obviously the climate or post Xmas blues that create such a miserable bunch......
yorkborn66
says...
2:20pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Oncebitten wrote:“Open free borders” , Yep that’s part of the problem , now to the weather !
To all these that feel we are a laughing stock...we have really open free boarders....PLEASE feel free to move on and out of this awful Country and leave it to us that appreciate it.
I haven't , as yet ,seen ANY evidence of us grinding to a halt.
It's obviously the climate or post Xmas blues that create such a miserable bunch......
meme
says...
2:21pm Tue 15 Jan 13
That's what happened in past
SpingloSponglo
says...
2:21pm Tue 15 Jan 13
ColdAsChristmas wrote:Spectacularly uninformed opinion of what “global warming” is and its effects.
It is true that some grit salt was removed and relocated but not the reason for bin removal.
In 2000, Dr David Vinner reported in the news that 'in a few years from now, children just won't know what snow is.'
13 years later........
If CofYC wait until conditions become severe before the remaining salt bins are refilled, they may just find they are snowed in and can't get out to do their duty.
These clowns are playing with the paying public's safety.
Also, No global warming since 1997!
It is unfortunately named, I suppose. Think warmer summers and harsher winters. All around more extreme weather.
Just because we don't have a Saharan climate year-round 13 years after somebody made a flippant remark does not preclude the fact that CO2 emissions are changing our climate.
You berk.
Willy Eckerslike
says...
3:06pm Tue 15 Jan 13
NoNewsIsGoodNews
says...
3:14pm Tue 15 Jan 13
We never used to get weather like this under a Labour government.
Ichabod76
says...
3:16pm Tue 15 Jan 13
You berk.
If you did any research at all you will see that the rise in CO2 follows a temperature rise not the other way round
but don't let facts get in the way of you insulting people
ReginaldBiscuit
says...
3:26pm Tue 15 Jan 13
NoNewsIsGoodNews wrote:I take issue with that. To blame such a useless inept puppet of the banks for the weather is taking it a bit far.
I blame David Cameron.
We never used to get weather like this under a Labour government.
Pedro
says...
3:33pm Tue 15 Jan 13
YorkPatrol
says...
3:58pm Tue 15 Jan 13
meme wrote:We used to have public hangings in the past too, and child slavery
Why dont we sort our own pavements and roads in front of our homes and not rely on others to do it for us! That's what happened in past
pedalling paul
says...
4:02pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Sawday2
says...
4:05pm Tue 15 Jan 13
ReginaldBiscuit
says...
4:12pm Tue 15 Jan 13
I read somewhere that UK infrastructure (that includes everything roads, hospitals, power, sanitation, NHS etc) can really only handle a capacity of 2/3rds the current population (and that's being generous - it's more like half). So when you're next stuck in snow and the car in front of you isn't moving, look across at the car on the opposite side of the road which isn't moving and smile like a creationist. They may smile back.
yorkborn66
says...
7:23pm Tue 15 Jan 13
pedalling paul wrote:You have won! , I cannot resist comment. You are a complete idiot.
I put on an extra layer this morning, then pedalled into York this morning on well gritted roads - sailed past queuing car drivers in the inbound peak. Got to my workplace destination and nearly came off because the area round its cycle racks was like glass........!
You are a legend in your own lunchtime.
SpingloSponglo
says...
7:54pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Ichabod76 wrote:Reading a few spurious "climate change skeptic" conspiracy theory websites doesn't count as research, you moron.
Just because we don't have a Saharan climate year-round 13 years after somebody made a flippant remark does not preclude the fact that CO2 emissions are changing our climate.
You berk.
If you did any research at all you will see that the rise in CO2 follows a temperature rise not the other way round
but don't let facts get in the way of you insulting people
If you've done your research, how about a few links? This is the Internet. It's pretty simple to copy and paste.
And proper scientific sources, please. Not some cryptozoology website.
SpingloSponglo
says...
7:55pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Magicman!
says...
4:26am Wed 16 Jan 13
pedalling paul wrote:Aren't you a councillor? If so this means you got to council property and they hadn't taken reasonable steps to ensure safety of their employees - which is hilarious as we entrust them to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the public!
I put on an extra layer this morning, then pedalled into York this morning on well gritted roads - sailed past queuing car drivers in the inbound peak. Got to my workplace destination and nearly came off because the area round its cycle racks was like glass........!
I didn't see a single gritter out at all today before 7pm (Tuesday). The sun set just after 4 and the temperature soon dropped so all the partially melted snow turned to black ice.
Yesterday I used grit I had saved over from last year when our salt bin was still in use because the council actually realised people valued such resources in order to clear and grit the footpath from the main road right the way down to a through street... all it took was 40 minutes, and yet nobody else on the street that has over 100 houses has done anything to clear even the footpath outside their own house. We wouldn't need snow wardens if everybody took some responsibility and actually did something for other people for a change.
pedalling paul
says...
8:28am Wed 16 Jan 13
Magicman! wrote:Me...a Councillor.......dre
pedalling paul wrote:Aren't you a councillor? If so this means you got to council property and they hadn't taken reasonable steps to ensure safety of their employees - which is hilarious as we entrust them to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the public!
I put on an extra layer this morning, then pedalled into York this morning on well gritted roads - sailed past queuing car drivers in the inbound peak. Got to my workplace destination and nearly came off because the area round its cycle racks was like glass........!
I didn't see a single gritter out at all today before 7pm (Tuesday). The sun set just after 4 and the temperature soon dropped so all the partially melted snow turned to black ice.
Yesterday I used grit I had saved over from last year when our salt bin was still in use because the council actually realised people valued such resources in order to clear and grit the footpath from the main road right the way down to a through street... all it took was 40 minutes, and yet nobody else on the street that has over 100 houses has done anything to clear even the footpath outside their own house. We wouldn't need snow wardens if everybody took some responsibility and actually did something for other people for a change.
am on!
Kevin Turvey
says...
9:50am Wed 16 Jan 13
Me...a Councillor.......dre
am on!’
If he was a councillor or other so called VIP he would be in the photo at the opening of the secure cycle parking at the station!
http://www.yorkpress
.co.uk/news/10164245
.New_secure_cycle_st
orage_unveiled_at_Yo
rk_railway_station/
In the photo of the story the owner of cycle heaven is not discussing the opening of the new facilities with the others, but merely commenting on when peddling paul will either turn up (hence they are rushing to avoid him) or write a predictable comment on this website about the new facilities and at £2 a day they are not value for money… or similar deluded waffle.
CHISSY1 says...
11:07am Tue 15 Jan 13