Madam, – Would somebody please tell Dublin City Council that there are small strips either side of roads called footpaths, which the vast majority of our city’s population use to get around their neighbourhood and city. There is no point having ice-free roads if the footpaths are like ice-rinks.
While realising the car is God in Dublin, the amount of injuries from people slipping on ice must be worth a couple of shovels of grit or salt, surely? Did the council learn nothing from last January? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As we luxuriate in the spanking new terminal at Dublin airport we can get a great view across the runways of a virgin snowscape, unspoilt by aircraft tyre tracks as they’re all grounded due to lack of de-icing and snow removal equipment.
Isn’t this just typical of the “Celtic Tiger” priorities? The Dublin Airport Authority has spent a lot of money on an over-the-top terminal which shouts “excessive waste!” but forgot to invest in the airport where it really matters – getting the planes on and off the ground! The money would have been better invested in snow equipment.
Here’s a suggestion – perhaps the DAA can sell the new terminal to the HSE for use as the children’s hospital (the two buildings certainly look alike in their space-age designs) and then use the money for snow ploughs. Then at least, when the Metro is built, the children’s hospital would be served by a reasonable transport system. We would also be able catch our flights to seek employment offshore irrespective of the weather at home. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Members of Government in their lack of wisdom have told us that if the weather is severe this winter we are not to worry, as they will have tons and tons of salt strewn on our skating-rink roads in the highways and byways.
Well, they must have shaken it all on their dinners, given all that was to be seen in my idyllic village of Kill. I had to get to Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and to Celbridge on Saturday. On driving from Kill I did a complete wheelie in my car approaching the village. I was not trying to impress Jeremy Clarkson or his Top Gear team, but I think he would have been impressed. But it shook me to the pit of my stomach for the day.
Kill, Ardclough, Straffan, Sallins and all surrounding villages could have hosted Strictly Come Dancing on ice, as byways were highly dangerous there.
Leave the snow on Christmas cards for me, or with children building snowmen, but driving is too scary in the ice and snow! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Being from the US (but living in Dublin since 2003), I guess you can call me spoiled. In the US when we have snow and ice, like we do here in Dublin now, they plough the roads and salt them the night before a storm is due, the day of it and for as long as necessary.
I was out in the city centre on Sunday and was amazed at all the dangerous icy sidewalks, not to mention the roads. I watched old people trying their best to navigate extremely icy sidewalks, many unable to cross the street. I saw only one lady – on Wicklow Street – salting the sidewalk in front of her shop.
Why isn’t whoever is in charge of streets salting the streets and sidewalks? Some people have fallen and I have no doubt lawsuits against the city will follow for their gross neglect.
In the US every city has a budget that includes snow removal and salting. You could learn a lot from the US, but my hope is that this is one lesson Ireland will not have to learn from being sued by people who have fallen and been hurt. This could be avoided if the city took proper care of its streets and sidewalks. – Yours, etc,