Transport chiefs have defended their decision not to grit the access road to Lichfield Trent Valley station.
A number of motorists were forced to abandon their cars over the weekend after the hill up to the railway bridge from the rear car park became covered in ice, leaving many drivers unable to navigate the slope.
Please get your gritters down to the new bridge and car park at #Lichfield Trent Valley railway station, @StaffordshireCC @StaffsPrepared Several stranded cars and drivers 😣 @Lichfield_DC @networkrail pic.twitter.com/GLpFCvMXPe
— Neil Spencer (@nspen1) December 8, 2017
Ridiculous this hadn't been gritted. 40 mins to get off the car park. Thanks to a mystery fellow driver for helping me up the bridge.
— gemma ridley (@Geminem_89) December 8, 2017
Not sure this is good enough @StaffordshireCC. You sharing the Winter Olympics with South Korea? This would make a banging toboggan track #coolrunnings #wheresthegrit pic.twitter.com/MeUvowGxIK
— Ben Quain (@benquain) December 12, 2017
The route is not on Staffordshire County Council’s list of routes for gritting – and Cllr Helen Fisher said the scale of the challenge facing gritting crews in recent days meant only essential routes could be treated.
Cllr Helen Fisher, Cabinet support member for highways and transport, said: “Our fleet of 43 gritters is out every night at the moment to keep the county on the move in often very difficult conditions.
“In periods of prolonged bad weather, if we can spare gritters from the main routes we will grit other roads as we can.”
