Comments on: Complaint – no gritting along Farmer’s Bridge flight, central Birmingham

By: simon gray

simon gray — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:56:06 +0000

ironically, british waterways have posted on their own website an article about staying safe during the worst of the winter weather - http://www.waterscape.com/features-and-articles/features/top-tips-for-winter-boating

By: Talk About Local » Aqua-local: blogging from the canals

Talk About Local » Aqua-local: blogging from the canals — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:55:29 +0000

[...] and, *shudder*, what happens if a spider gets caught in the electrics. There’s campaigns, complaints and not forgetting plenty of beautiful scenery. Much of Britain is close to a canal and they are [...]

By: simon

simon — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:57:17 +0000

My response:

Dear Dean Davies,

I have to say, I am shocked by the total disregard you are exhibiting here for the safety of pedestrian waterways users – especially given the exhortation on your own website to “Take to the towpaths and enjoy a gloriously traffic-free journey to work – or find your own green shortcut through the centre and beat the crowds to the bars of Brindleyplace”.

Your response gives the impression that I am requesting the entire towpath network to be gritted – I am not, just the key strategic parts of the city centre where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic – this is a comparatively small amount of towpath to grit – at the very least gritting of the Farmer’s Bridge lock flight (with the addition of parts of the Ashted & Aston flights being the only city centre flights) on which there are the treacherous ramps to slide down; I am horrified that you cannot see the potential for loss of life of a pedestrian who might slip on the ice and fall into the lock itself, getting trapped under the ice there.

It would take no time at all for one of your operatives to go down from the Farmer’s Bridge lock-keeper’s cottage with a trolley full of grit; I am seriously unhappy with your response to my complaint – please advise me of an escalation procedure.

By: simon

simon — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:31:48 +0000

Dean Davies has replied to my complaint thus:

Dear Mr Gray,

I was genuinely sorry to read about the problems you encountered on the Farmer’s Bridge Flight this morning.

Unfortunately British Waterways do not have the resources to carry out the work you suggest. The length of towpath we maintain means logistically it would be impossible to grit areas given the number of people we employ. Unlike the local authorities, our mandate does not extend to gritting paths in bad weather, and at short notice. Whilst I have every sympathy with the points you raised, I simply cannot meet those expectations. It would be remiss of me to make promises I cannot deliver.

The majority of BW’s towpaths have only permissive rights on them – which means we allow the public to use them, but can close them at any time. This is another subtle difference between the local authorities and BW.

Regards

Dean Davies
Waterway Manager
West Midlands