Salt bins needed in more housing estates

The need for more salt bins in estates across South Dublin has been brought to the attention of the council.

100 salt bins owned by the council are available around the county for people to avail of, while gritting will be provided on major roads.

Gritting runs will take place at either 5am or 7pm depending on the weather forecasts and will carry on until the end of April.

The council’s team is set to cover around 340km of roads, with proximity to hospitals and other services seen as a priority.

Some other primary routes are expected to be treated by TII contractors throughout the season.

However, the gritting strategy will not include estate roads, with the importance of the provided salt bins being emphasised.

Councillor Yvonne Collins has asked for more salt bins in certain areas, noting that some estates have more of a necessity for these bins than others.

Cllr Collins stated: “There are some estates which, by their geographical nature, could be said to be more in need of a salt bin than others…

“Areas like Whitecliff, which has a very steep kind of hill on it, the Hermitage, the Divine Ward National School.”

Councillor Paddy Cosgrave also raised the issue of Whitecliff’s steep hill and the dangers it poses to residents in winter.

Cllr Cosgrave noted that the frost and snow that comes along with the season can provide treachery for adults and children going to work and to school.

He said: “There’s a slight rise on the entrance to the estate and when the frost comes it’s very slippy, especially for young children on bikes going to school and stuff like that.”

Bins provided by South Dublin County Council are restocked ahead of every season and then refilled upon request.

Grit and salt bins are available for residents to purchase privately but the council will not refill any they do not own.

On top of this, SDCC do not place grit and salt bins in housing estates as they feel it would be too tough to maintain.

The council’s Road Maintenance Senior Engineer Gary Walsh noted that they do not have the staff to place and restock these and underlined that safety concerns would stop workers from refilling during severe weather events.

But the Senior Engineer did state that there are estate bins that the council do provide that can store grit.

He said: “It’s a small yellow wheelie bin – fill it with salt and use that. It’s actually potentially more usable than the normal salt bins ever could have been because they can actually wheel it.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.