There have been calls for increased gritting on pavements across Belfast following reports of children being injured while going to school.
South Belfast SDLP councillor Gary McKeown and Seamus De Faoite have called on the Department for Infrastructure to start gritting pavements in the city saying that it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured.
Concerns have been raised regarding the icy pavements by parents of children attending Holy Rosary St Bernard's and Knockbreda Primary Schools following a number of accidents outside of the schools.
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On couple with children attending Holy Rosary said: "As parents of two children at Holy Rosary, we did the usual school run but also went to the school for the Christmas performance for our younger child.
“This was attended by many parents and grandparents, some with buggies or mobility issues. We walked from the Spar at Sunnyside Street to the school and back again and almost fell on two occasions, witnessing many others also having near misses.
“Many parents including us had to walk on the road to avoid falling due to sheets of back ice on the footpath and also on parts of the road. The school has taken all reasonable precautions inside the grounds, but doesn’t have responsibility or resources for the public roads and footpaths.
“Sunnyside Street and Sunnyside Crescent are both hazardous and I’m very concerned that someone may have a serious accident on foot or by car if DfI fail to take action.”
Cllr McKeown said: “It’s complete madness that DfI focus solely on gritting roads, completely ignoring the fact that a lot people get around by foot. When you’re faced with weather like we’ve had in recent days, coupled with a refusal to take steps to try to make pavements safer, it’s a recipe for disaster.
“There’s a particular risk for children or people with mobility issues, and these are often the members of our community who are more likely to walk from A to B.
“For example, in my own area, there’s a location on Sunnyside Street where the pavement has an incline, and due to the freezing and thawing this week, there’s a sheet of black ice on it which has created a death-trap. It’s so bad that parents and children have had to go out onto the road to walk to school, which in itself is creating a danger on one of our busiest roads at school time. It’s also dangerous for people going to the supermarket which is right beside it, particularly in the darker evenings.
“Despite the fact that the nearby Holy Rosary Primary School has an exceptionally high number of pupils who get to and from class by walking, cycling or scooting, DfI has refused to come out and grit the pavement here. What does it say when parents and kids can’t even do the school run by foot without feeling unsafe?
“We need the Department to put in place a rapid response model for issues like this as they arise, rather than taking a ‘computer says no’ attitude. Alternatively, they should provide funding to the council to grit problematic locations, like they do in the city centre."
Councillor De Faoite said: "“These are busy Lisnasharragh schools. Parents and Educators need to know that kids can get to their classrooms safely during winter weather, free from the risk of injury. The Department for Infrastructure must act to ensure the Wynchurch area is properly gritted during cold conditions.”
Councillor McKeown said that the DfI has said that it has no obligation to grit pavements and said the department needs to be "dragged into the 21st Century".
He continued: “The Department’s position is that it has no statutory obligation to grit pavements, but in my view it has a moral obligation. Its current policy dates from 2001, focuses solely on roads, and does not provide for the gritting of footways. While I appreciate that resources are stretched, this policy is clearly not fit for purpose and in no way reflects the shift in emphasis towards trying to encourage people out of their cars.
“The Department needs to drag itself into the 21st century and realise that not everyone gets around by car all of the time. Not only that, but it should be taking steps to actively make it safer for people to walk.
“I have a real fear that if steps aren’t taken to rectify this situation, we could be looking at serious injuries or even deaths from falls or traffic collisions if we see a continuation of this weather over coming months without a shift in policy.”
A Departmental spokesperson said: “The Department for Infrastructure does not normally salt footways but where resources allow will work with councils during longer periods of snow and ice to clear footways in busy town or city centres. In other locations, salting of footways will only be accommodated in an emergency or to relieve a particular hardship, and is subject to available resources.
"Further advice on clearing snow and ice from footways is available at https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/clearing-ice-and-snow-footways “
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