CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
Another week
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Posted 13 years ago #
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"
Edinburgh_CC:Gritting update - 22 gritters and 48 other snow clearing vehicles have been out on Edinburgh's roads since snow started falling this morning
Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/Edinburgh_CC/status/16439468781215745
"Posted 13 years ago # -
Having had to go in to work this morning (grumble) I can confirm that the cooncil have actually been busy clearing the city centre. They seem to have managed in a few hours what it took 5 days to do last time-so it shows it is possible.
Posted 13 years ago # -
hey seem to have managed in a few hours what it took 5 days to do last time-so it shows it is possible.
I had to go over to Homebase at St Leonards for wood. Seems to have gone from one extreme of impotence and inaction to overkill. Six Lightways workies out hand-gritting Bernard Terrace. One to push the wheelbarrow, one to shovel grit from barrow into a bucket, another to hold the bucket, one to spread the gravel onto the road, one to sit in the van and the last to supervise proceedings. I'm not complaining that they were out gritting, and they were spreading so much that the pavements looked like cycle lanes, just seems like such a laborious, inefficient way to do things. Oh for a mini-tractor.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Met Office credibility bit on line here - talking about 20cm snow this afternoon for Edinburgh...
Posted 13 years ago # -
"take action".
I take it that's meteorology speak for "panic buy"
Posted 13 years ago # -
"Oh for a mini-tractor. "
Well I saw one of the quad bike pavement thingies on the way home. It was sitting in Leith Street with two guys standing looking at it.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Just spent two hours shovelling shnow off the pavements and cleared the whole road in front of my house and next door, only for it to start snowing all over again. Meanwhile people in Land Rover Discoveries and Ford Galaxies trundled back and forth every so often, compressing the brand new snow into proto-ice which then needed chiselling off the tarmac.
Eventually I gave up as it was coming down faster than I could keep up, and I couldn't grip the shovel handle anymore.
Traction is fine if you can keep the settling depth to a minimum, but you'd need every motorist to
have a snowblower on the front of the carstop driving everywhere.Posted 13 years ago # -
Hmmm. Just driven in via the Calder Road roundabout, Gorgie, Dalry, Haymarket, Queen Street, London Road, Meadowbank and Restalrig Road without seeing a gritter except one heading west on the opposite carriageway just before the rumblepaint where M8 meets bypass. Very hairy until Chesser. Given the sub-zerosity out there there'll be lots of that horrible sub-slush compacted ice in the morning.
Posted 13 years ago # -
@winpig do you think its rideable?
Posted 13 years ago # -
There were a few bikes out but they were spinning a bit when they weren't using motor vehicle tracks
Posted 13 years ago # -
Oh for a mini-tractor
Snow in the suburbs Dec 19th: It's back by kaysgeog, on FlickrPosted 13 years ago # -
Posted 13 years ago #
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yawn
Posted 13 years ago # -
"The city council said 22 gritters, 16 mini-tractors and 32 other vehicles had been out clearing snow, but some roads were still dangerous during this morning's rush hour"
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/9am-Briefing-Commuters-struggle-as.6665141.jp
Posted 13 years ago # -
16 mini-tractors
They've lost 4 now?
Posted 13 years ago # -
From the pavement, nothing looks as bad or as deep as two weeks ago... bus-tyres seem to be squishing the slush away right down to the tarmac without leaving any additional packed lumps of ice.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"without leaving any additional packed lumps of ice"
Yes.
Snow seems a bit wetter, and not as much in as short a time as previously.
Also must be some salt on road as it's well below freezing (though above 10).
Posted 13 years ago # -
I got the bus in this morning and as I stared out the window at the road surface I thought "hey, they've actually made a good job of clearing it". Far fewer cars on the road on the way out of town, bus took far less time than it normally would. I began to wish I had cycled - but just didn't know when I left the house what surfaces would be like.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Same here. Yesterday, I saw for the first time this winter some sort of clearing action in my street (Bruntsfield).
But they also looked like they were not sure what to do. In any case, they didn't grit the road after that, so, it was promptly re-covered with snow an hour later. Very useful!
Posted 13 years ago # -
I was on the bus as well (bike left in the office on Friday before the Christmas lunch), and had that same 'should be riding' feeling. Although that was mainly because the traffic around our spot was horrendous. The bus took 40 minutes where it normally takes 15, and none of that down to the conditions, all down to the massive weight of traffic on Portobello Road.
Posted 13 years ago # -
@wingpig - nah - bus packed snow on Hanover was not fun
@gowgowuk - at least they did something rather than have to clear 5 inches of hard packed iceCycled in today, albeit slowly and getting some space from a good bus driver
I am not looking forward to the slush freezing for heading home in the dark (although I do have enough lights to be seen they won't help me see what is frozen and what isn't)I admit I went to the local supermarket and stocket up on one emergency backup family sized frozen Christmas dinner in case the weather gets worse (although the forecast keeps changing) and we don't make it to the inlaws, and we have pretty much already done the secret santa present transfer so as far as I am concerned the weather can bring it on. I rather fancy getting to work being an adventure
I spent a moajroity of yesterday clearing snow outside our flat and enxt door, by the thrid time I was too tired to clear next door's packed down ice crud and just did their door-pavement. A little bit of grit did actually help our stretch too, falling snow melted which surprised me, glad I nabbed a few buckets of it to store for when the eejits nearby put too much down in big clumps rather than spreading efficiently
had to clear the road-garage stretch which is very long then went on to clear the road too with my new snow shovel of dhoom my dad had to get specially flown in under cover of dark with a UN escort...
I also stopped a lot of drivers (first one, a 4x4, stopped simply because I was shaking my head at him in blatatn disgust) and told them "my brother in law got pulled over by the cops for having his headlights covered like yours... and the roof... and the brakelights and indicators" this seemed to work better than "clean your frigging car you muppet!"
Hopefully these people will then alert their friends and colleagues to do the same.Posted 13 years ago # -
I am on holiday for three days so am busy making soup, banana bread and brown rolls in the warm. :-P
I did have to go in yesterday though in the snow. Plus I have found myself watching those hideous property shows where annoyingly rich people buy a huge house with stables and several acres of grounds and spend more than our house is worth doing it up.
Luckily Bargain Hunt is on soon.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"family sized frozen Christmas dinner"
YUCK! You should've told us. Have already volunteered to share lour dinner with another potentially stranded family if they don't get away to family. But have proposed to cook in their kitchen, as it is about 3x the size of mine :)
In the mid-1980s my dad invited home some new Polish colleagues and their mother-in-law who had just arrived from Poland and spoke no English. Big snowstorm hit, power went out. All family and visitors ended up kitted out in spare jerseys and legwarmers (it was the 80s...), and my mother cooked Christmas dinner on a 2 burner camp stove. It was fab!
Posted 13 years ago # -
Cool and yes, we already have potential guest swap going on if
my dad can't get down. Which is looking increasingly
likely. :-(Posted 13 years ago # -
@SRD - in fact was thinking of hiring the Phoenix club on harrison gardens for large kitchen and plenty seating space. Could end up like the "Big Lunch" thing, space for the kids to run around indoors and also a big garden space full of untouched snow!
Getting a pile of people together by
sending out a shout on Facebook etc on Christmas eve if we don't travel. Could be difficult a) to book the hall and b) to heat the hall
As for the frozen thing it is rather than have extra fresh stuff that will not get used in time if we go away. Have had decent tasting frozen stuff before and hey - it's just one dinner after all, the rest of the day is what matters (like giving a certain piece of news to family)Posted 13 years ago # -
"like giving a certain piece of news to family"
You're buying a new bike that costs... (?)
Posted 13 years ago # -
Spytfyre :)
Does Phoenix club have a kitchen? Cause we could get the church one if not. Catered 3 soups, chicken wings, spinach and cheese filo triangles, bread, cheese, and mince tarts, date squares, and fruitcake (only the latter not made by me) for lunch yesterday - probably 40ish people, and we had an absolute blast (had no idea how many people would come, especially given weather, which was nerve-wracking but very good fun in the end).
Posted 13 years ago # -
@chdot - no - but that would be funny
@SRD - I would have thought the church would have been in use for their most important day of the year? o.OPosted 13 years ago # -
"had no idea how many people would come, especially given weather"
You should have mentioned it on forums where people who cycle hang out...
Posted 13 years ago #
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