Following my post a few days ago about the icy roads and pavements around Redlands and the rest of Reading I have been contacted by residents in their droves through a range of mediums(including Twitter and Facebook) to complain about the state of streets in their area.
From the complaints I've had South Reading appears particularly badly hit - Bede Walk, Hexham estate, Buckland/Brixham Road have been mentioned as "no go" areas for drives and pedestrians.
However, I've also had complaints from residents from as far afield as Oxford Road and Caversham.
Everywhere the complaint is the same: treacherous pavements and icy roads that are impossible to navigate safely.
People are understandably very angry that the Council has not acted to grit many roads in the Borough.
One constituent from Hadrians Walk West emailed me yesterday to say:
"I have ended up with a cracked bone in my ankle as the paths around here are ice now and I slipped on Norhhumberland Avenue near George Palmer School...nothing has been done about it"
Anecdotal evidence I have picked up recently is that the Accident and Emergency at the Royal Berks Hospital has been inundated by people presenting with suspected broken limbs.
These accidents have taken place as a result of falls which have taken place on local roads and pavements are clearly putting our already stretched Ambulance Service under even more pressure.
The weather is also having a particular impact on elderly people in Reading - many of whom are confined to their homes, unable to go out and scared to walk on the pavements.
Ice was very much in evidence on Erleigh Road on Saturday when we held our last ward Surgery for the year.
My colleague Kirsten Bayes even slipped and fell on the ice as she was walking along Addington Road-Alexandra Road and was lucky to escape a serious injury.
I am chasing Reading Borough Council for a response to the concerns I raised on residents' behalf (I emailed officers on Friday) but I have still heard nothing.
This article on the problem in today's Post contained this nugget of information:
"Reading Borough Council will continue to follow its policy of only gritting main roads and if the snow is predicted to lie in the town centre it will be treated to make it safe."
The revelation in the article that:
"Broad Street was dangerously icy on Friday and the South Central Ambulance Service had to call the Council and ask them to grit the high street to stop people falling over.
...is very worrying.Why did the Council not anticipate these problems better?
The Council's gritting policy can be found on the RBC website. This PDF map shows the major gritting routes.
RBC's policy suggests that the Council will not grit most 'lower class' (non-major residential) roads.
Most people in Reading live on these types of roads and many people expect the Council (as highways authority) to keep their roads safe and free of ice.
I'm concerned that there has been a lack of communication by the Council to local residents about what gritting they can expect in their area etc
One resident told me his mother rang the Council was told gritting lorries wouldn't be doing her area because "the Council has no money to grit!"
Is this really the message the Council wants to be putting out or that Council Tax-payers want to hear?
My colleague Lynne Featherstone MP has been campaigning to get Labour-run Haringey Council to sort out the roads in her area over on her blog.
I visited family in Camden at the weekend and grit was far more in evidence in residential roads around NW5 than in RG1.
So some councils around the UK have got it right.
And this list from the Local Government Association shows how.
More snow is forecast for Reading.
I really hope that the Council will consider urgently reviewing it's policies on gritting to better protect the public and to prevent more accidents from happening.
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