Snow Clearance

 

How we deal with Roads and Footways in West Lothian

Every winter West Lothian Council has to treat 950 km of roads and around 1000 km of footways to combat the effects of bad weather. The normal period of operation extends from 1st November - 31st March.

It is important to appreciate that it is not possible to treat all routes simultaneously. In this view, the council must adopt a priority system to ensure that the treatment is targeted to areas of greatest need first.

Where possible, we aim to treat major roads and important bus routes prior to the formation of ice. When it snows these important routes are treated first and where necessary treated continously. 

We operate this service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when necessary. Once these primary routes have been treated, we treat secondary routes such as those in housing estates and rural areas.

We also deal with footways on a priority basis. In ice and snow conditions footways leading to schools, hospitals, health centres, shopping areas and where there is heavy pedestrian movement are treated first. Main routes to residential areas follow, with internal footways in housing areas being treated as resources permit.

In addition we provide over 1600 grit bins, which are positioned throughout West Lothian for use by members of the public.

Winter Maintenance Leaflet

Service Standards

We will:

  • Publish our winter maintenance policy, including treatment priorities and level of service, each year prior to the start of winter maintenance operations (details of our winter maintenance policy are provided in a guidance note);
  • Carry out gritting and snow clearing operations on public roads and footpaths in accordance with published policy;
  • Provide new grit bins in streets which meet the required criteria; and
  • Fill grit bins on receipt of a request where resources allow, or following periods of severe weather.

Contact Details

For: Policy on route priorities; requests for new grit bin or refills; general information/comments on service provision - 01506 775000 (24 hour contact number)

Frequently Asked Questions

Click a question to see the answer.

Can the council provide salt for me to salt my drive and path?

The council does not provide salt or grit for private use, but if we have surplus, we may consider giving you a quote for providing you with salt/grit.

How does the council decide when to grit/salt priority 1 roads in the winter?

The Council receive daily detailed forecasts from the Met Office which are used along with data from weather stations throughout the region to decide what precautionary treatment action is required, in which area.

In terms of winter road maintenance, what is the difference between priority, auxiliary/non priority routes?

Priority routes are given extended winter maintenance coverage, treated before non-priority routes, and kept open or opened up in preference to non-priority routes during prolonged snow conditions. Auxiliary Routes are at a higher altitude than the rest of the network, more prone to icing and more lightly trafficked than priority routes. Non-priority routes are gritted after priority routes are completed and only dealt with after priority/auxiliary routes have been satisfactorily cleared during prolonged snow conditions. Adopted footways are categorised into priority and non-priority routes. Priority footways are main thoroughfares in towns and larger villages. Other footways are treated on completion of priority routes.

Why has my road/ street/footpath/ not been treated?

It is not possible to treat all roads/streets/footpaths at the same time. Those roads/streets/footpaths for which the Council has a statutory duty to maintain are prioritised and the higher priority routes are treated first. In times of severe weather conditions some lower priority roads/streets/footpaths may not receive treatment for many days due to multiple treatments required on higher priority roads.

Online Tools

Report a Road, Pavement or Street Lighting Fault

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