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Oldham wakes up to winter snow
Reporter: Marina Berry
Date online: 19 December 2011
OLDHAM motorists struggled on treacherous roads over the weekend as the first snows of the winter fell.
Flakes began to fall at around 5am on Sunday morning, and many residents woke to a winter wonderland — just seven days too early for a White Christmas.
Both main and side roads were covered in snow, but while dirving was made more difficult youngsters took the opportunity to have fun. The borough’s parks were full of sledges and children building snowmen.
Around 4cm of snow fell, and weekend temperatures plummeted to -4.4C at 3am on Sunday.
Traffic police reported no road closures, with even the traditional winter trouble spots of the A635 Holmfirth Road out of Greenfield and the A628 Woodhead Pass remaining open.
The forecast for the rest of the week is for the temperature to become a little warmer, with forecasts of up to 10C by the end of the week.
Comments
Ridiculous! Those roadworks at Mumps meant my little out-of-town side-road was snowier than usual and I had to think about how I drove along it.
Sort it out, council! We want more trains and fewer snow clouds.
Was your journey into Saddleworth really necessary? Yes if you are a home help, district nurse, community midwife, dr, .........
Snow in winter! Who'd of thought it?
Can all the people who whinge about snow on the roads answer the following question. Do you wear the same shoes on a snowy day as you do in the middle of summer?
No.
Why do you expect your summer car tyres to work in winter? I fitted my winter tyres & had no problem in the snow. Even got over polished ice in the rain this morning, while people on summer tyres were stuck on almost flat roads.
Help yourself & stop expecting personal gritters.
The council was telling us last week it has a stockpile of grit & would prioritise main routes. Didn't take long for that to be put to the test & fail.
How about getting David Attenborough to come to Oldham to try and find one of the fabled Lesser-Spotted Gritters.
well for once the roads where not as bad.
the gritters where out sat night at 9pm. i saw two, one in waterhead and later in uppermill.
some people expect too much from grit salt. its only meant to raise the temperature of water by a couple of degrees. if it was -4 then its still going to be below freezing point.
what the council didnt do well was deploying the snow ploughs early around 6am clearing some of the snow.
the same sort of snow fell two years ago. and oldham was worse back then!
Just a couple of points to all the whingers,
1) rock salt does not dissolve snow as soon as it touches it (even the salt pile at Moorhey Street gets covered in snow) It takes time to work in and needs traffic for that.
2) There are only a certain number of gritters covering the vast amount of the main roads/bus routes etc. If a gritter doesn't come past the moment you look out of your cosy front room window doesn't mean they are not around and they do a damn good job in bad conditions.
The comments about Winter tyres are valid. Most people I know, who have used them, say they make a difference (they are your only point of contact with the road), but they aren't a substitute for sensible driving. If you haven't got the experience/ability to drive in icy conditions, you should avoid difficult roads. Some people have to make these journeys, but if you lack the ability to get your car away from the main road when you abandon it, you really shouldn't have set off in the first place
Agree with BC worker – before the annual whinge about the highways team please consider a few home truths. Salt does not work after -5c and also requires traffic flow to activate its properties. Oldham is a Pennine area that is split into two domains in height. This means it can be snowing in Saddleworth and Sunny in Failsworth. The Met Office has improved but they still cannot zero in the local forecast. Last Sunday they predicted rain then it started to snow.
Mobilising a fleet of seven gritters and trained crews takes time especially if the predicted weather meant a stand bye. Give Oldham Council a break – they remain the best highways team in AGMA. Oldham has emergency plans with other responders to get health care workers, ambulance, fire and police to any snowbound event using 4x4 and OMRT.
Have you purchased any rock salt for your driveway this year? The Council is selling it by the bag - or are you like most people stealing it from the yellow highway bins filled for use on the public carriageway or footpath?
@ombcworker that's right make excuses.You seem to forget your job exists because of the very people you are criticising.If there's not enough equipment to cover the routes & the salt doesn't work too weel, then clearly the job isn't being done right.Ut's not as if there aren't decades of experience to learn from is it? The point about snow tyres is valid dependent on what are on the car anyway.My standard tyres work all year round,unlike low profiles etc
@prodriver - not excuses just a couple of facts. The job is being done right with the equipment at hand. Whether the amount of equipment is right or wrong is not for me to say but bear in mind, why have 20+ gritter ready to tackle a few weeks of snow? OMBC would be in the firing line for wasting money for that one.
OC Worker – we are wasting our time and effort explaining the winter highways to people like PRO who think they know better, can manage the system better and bring in a value for money service. Like every other council service in the UK the highways is under scrutiny every year gauged also on the public opinion. I believe the service is excellent keeping all the strategic highways open and responding to winter emergencies. Well done team Oldham.
Have Your Say
Nothing new about drivers getting stuck here. No gritters or ploughs seen til after lunch but by then, cars had been abandoned all over the place. Note to drivers: Was your journey into Saddleworth really necessary Sun morning ?Why not wait a while next time and see if things improve, as they did later ?
By morgana60 @ 19/12/2011 16:01:16