Road salting

Whenever possible we salt roads outside peak traffic times and before freezing conditions occur, but this becomes difficult when rain, sleet or hail washes salt off the roads.

Roads are salted in the following order of priority:

1. 'A' roads (except the A38, which is managed by the Highways Agency)
2. Distributor roads
3. Roads serving industrial areas and shopping centres
4. Bus routes
5. One entrance/exit to each village or district
6. Hilly roads, which could be particularly hazardous if icy

On a full salting trip we cover more than 42 per cent of the city's entire road network using seven vehicles – that's over 900 kilometres. Additional roads may be salted depending on conditions, but only after priority roads have been completed.

We also have around 400 salt bins at 'trouble spot' locations across the city (agreed by local area committees or local communities). These provide the public with grit that can be used on public roads or footways but should not be used to treat private properties.

Salting of pavements and footways

Our main priority is to keep Plymouth's primary routes operational during icy conditions. We do not generally treat footways. However in extreme conditions and if resources allow after priority roads have been gritted, we may treat some footways in the city centre including those in and around bus and train stations.

Clearing snow and ice yourself

There's no law stopping you from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside your home or from public spaces. It's unlikely you'll be sued or held legally responsible for any injuries on the path if you have cleared it carefully. Follow the snow code to ensure you clear snow and ice safely.

Did you know?

• At the start of the winter we have over 900 tonnes of salt
• It takes two hours to complete a typical precautionary salt, but a full run can take over four hours.
• During 2010/2011 we carried out 36 early morning inspections, salted the primary route 24 times and the secondary routes 18 times.
• During 2008/2009 we carried out 43 early morning inspections, salted the primary route network 21 times and the secondary route network 16 times. This period saw the most consistently low temperatures in 18 years.