The City of Edinburgh Council says that it is working hard to prepare for the bad weather forecast for this weekend.
Edinburgh has been forecast to receive further snow showers on Saturday evening into Sunday morning with the likelihood that this will continue throughout Sunday and into Monday.
The Council’s 31 gritters will be out in full force, along with 19 mini-tractors, a range of other vehicles and hundreds of staff and contractors. Since early Friday morning a gritting crew has been continuing to work on Category 1, 2 and 3 roads and pavements.
Gritting crews will be out overnight gritting and monitoring road conditions and a team will be out on Saturday during the day treating Category 3 routes – unless further bad weather means that Category 1 and 2 routes need to be retreated.
A full list of streets and their priority for gritting is now available. Residents can now look up their street name and find out what priority gritting route they are on by accessing the information here.
The Council will be doing everything possible to bring refuse collection up-to-date, especially in the worst hit areas of the city.
Crews will be making every effort to collect refuse that has accumulated during the bad weather – some areas are still causing significant problems for access by 26 tonne refuse lorries and the Council is making every effort possible to ensure they receive a collection. This includes increasing resources, utilising different methods of collection, employing different patterns of collection and using smaller vehicles to collect refuse to be transferred by hand to larger refuse vehicles.
Around 800 tonnes of rubbish has been picked up every day this week compared to a normal daily weight of 400 – 500 tonnes.
For residents in the areas of Balerno, Currie, South Queensferry, Kirkliston and Ratho should leave their wheeled bin in the most accessible place for refuse crews to access and leave it out until it is collected.
Residents should also follow the ‘Edinburgh Snow Code’ as part of their preparations for the next spell of bad weather.
Councillor Robert Aldridge, Environmental Leader, said: “We are on the front-foot and doing everything we can to get up-to-date with our refuse collections and we want to make sure that priority roads are gritted in advance of the forecast for bad weather. This year, we have been pulling out all the stops in preparation for the cold spell. From bringing in extra Council contractors to our own staff volunteering to go out and clear the snow. We want to reassure residents that we are out on the ground, and are well prepared for whatever weather may come our way over the next few days.”
Abandoned cars
If there is more snow the Council is urging drivers to drive and park appropriately and avoid leaving their vehicle in an area where it could present a risk to other motorists and to avoid bus routes. Due to the bad weather last week, Police uplifted 100 cars which had been abandoned.
Potholes
All neighbourhood areas now have a squad targeting the worst potholes. Repairs will be done on a priority basis.
Bus routes
Bus routes have been targeted for gritting in the severe weather and this will be the same position if more bad weather hits Edinburgh.
Students
The Council is aware that there are a number of students travelling home for Christmas this weekend. We would urge these young people to check transport arrangements for trains/planes/roads and prepare for the bad weather.
Health and Social Care
Public are being reminded to check on elderly and vulnerable neighbours to see if they are coping with the extreme weather conditions. A quick visit to make sure they have enough food and essential supplies in their home is always welcome.
Emergency household supplies are available to vulnerable people if they are assessed as needing help after contacting Social Care Direct. The supplies are being delivered by the Council’s own staff and Red Cross volunteers are helping out.
Anyone who is concerned about someone who they feel should be getting assistance can contact the social care direct team at the Council on 0131 200 2324, and staff there will arrange appropriate follow up. In the evenings and weekend contact can be made with the out of hours service at 0800 731 6969.
