I WRITE in response to your comments under the heading "Nitty gritty of non-slip roads" (January 6).

The council's gritting policy has been in force for more than five years. It has already been subject to review during that time and we will always consider any necessary changes in the light of experience.

The policy provides 24 hour/seven days a week cover and decisions on gritting are made by a rota of three highly trained officers. Last Friday a decision to grit the roads (including the A59) was made and this was carried out between 4pm and 6pm that day.

That decision was based on the predicted road temperature falling below zero at 6pm that evening. It could normally be expected that the grit would be effective throughout that night and including the following morning.

Clearly there were problems with ice on roads on Saturday morning with the A59 in particular being a problem. This was partly due to the fluctuation of road temperatures at the end of the night and a sudden unforecast fall in road temperature down to -5C at around 7am which lasted through to 9am on Saturday.

Cost is never a factor in this decision- making process. The council has made considerable investment to provide the best possible information on which to base our decisions and we do set our sights at the highest level.

That is why we grit a much higher proportion of our roads than the national average and why we will always grit when we feel it will help increase road safety.

Bill Woolley,

Assistant director,

Environment and development services, St Leonard's Place, York.

Updated: 11:11 Thursday, January 09, 2003