ONE full month after the start of the great thaw and many Dublin footpaths are still covered in an unsightly and potentially hazardous material.
As the unprecedented snowfall forced Dublin City Council to utilise the majority of its salt reserves to treat the capital’s roads, many footpaths had to be treated with a coarse grit in order to make them safe for pedestrians.
While this substance served an important purpose during the icy conditions, in many parts of Dublin its stony remains still cover the footpaths – posing an entirely new health and safety risk.
Michele O’Brien, National Health Promotion Manager at the Irish Osteoporosis Society offered her assessment of the situation.
“Any uneven surface would place a person at risk of a fracture, especially those with osteopenia and/or osteoporosis, as the majority of fractures happen in the osteopenia range.
“The debris needs to be cleared ASAP as there have already been multiple fractures due to the snow and ice.”
O’Brien also highlighted that for every fractured hip “the total cost is approximately €31,000” and that “only 30% of people aged 60+ who fracture a hip will regain their independence”.
O’Brien also illustrated just how dangerous uneven surfaces can be when she recounted seeing a woman in Dun Laoghaire fracture her hip after tripping over cobblestones that had only been laid the week before.
Ireland’s National Disability Authority (NDA) – as outlined in their guidelines – states in relation to pavement surfaces: “Uneven surfaces such as cobbles and bare earth and surfaces such as loose gravel and sand should be avoided.
“These are difficult and uncomfortable for many people to cross and may present a tripping hazard.”
At the time of writing both Labour’s Mary Upton TD, and Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD were able to confirm that they had not received any complaints from constituents about the condition of the Dublin South Central footpaths.
Mr Ó Snodaigh, however, has asked his colleague Cllr Críona Ní Dhálaigh to table a question on the matter to City Manager John Tierney.
Dublin City Council responded to events during the December period by stating:
“We do not recommend the spreading of grit on footways, however, if there was a particular problem with the clearing of ice or snow from a footway, grit may have been spread in certain limited areas of the City.
“We will examine the progress of clearing away any grit that may have been used on footways . . .”
The council spokesperson did confirm that as long as sufficient reserves of salt are available, that salt is the recommended substance for treating footpaths that cannot be cleared of snow manually.
When asked if there is a Council strategy for gritting footpaths during snowy periods, the spokesperson replied:
“During the severe weather events of 2010, work was carried out by Dublin City Council, with the resources available, on the clearance of snow and ice from footways, with priority being given to footways with higher volumes of pedestrians and footways with particular needs.
“Dublin City Council is currently carrying out a review on the response to the recent severe weather event.”
A Dublin City street cleaner working in the Thomas Street area suggested that the continuing cold overnight temperatures might also be holding up the clearing of the footpaths.
“I’m here every day cleaning the paths, but look,” he says as he turns his broom onto its edge and attempts to dislodge a thick clump of compacted debris from the path, “it’s still frozen.”
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