Walsall roads to be cleared of snow are selected
Main routes that will be cleared in extreme weather to keep services going have been chosen by council bosses.
A new action plan is being drawn up for how Walsall will deal with heavy snow and plummeting temperatures to stop services grinding to a halt.
The Government now requires every council to come up with a plan for extreme weather conditions. It includes which roads will be gritted and ploughed to allow bin collections to continue and traffic to keep moving.
Council chiefs have put together a draft plan that whey will put into practice over the winter.
Areas that will be cleared during thick snow include the A4124 in Willenhall, the Broadway in the town centre, Lichfield Road in Bloxwich, Aldridge Road and Pleck Road in Pleck.
Council chiefs want to keep the town's main ring road clear, and routes through the neighbouring centres such as Darlaston and Willenhall.
A report to the council states: "Maintaining the safety of the travelling public during the winter period is vital to the health and wellbeing of all residents and businesses in the borough. This plan has been developed to ensure as far as reasonably practicable that access to goods and services will be maintained whatever weather conditions may be experiences during the winter season."
It adds: "For the 2014/15 winter season, the council will deliver the general winter service as and when the weather conditions dictate pre-salting/snow clearance routes and retail-based locations used by large numbers of pedestrians.
"A limited winter service known as the resilience network when extremes of weather or resource shortages require the available resources to be concentrated on maintaining the operation of a minimum transport network.
"This will be undertaken to assist the delivery of key essential services while maintaining economic activity where possible."
It comes as stockpiles of grit are accumulating in Brownhills as the borough's fleet of gritting vehicles get ready for another winter.
The Apex Road depot has been stocked with around 3,000 tonnes of salt which is ready to be spread when the mercury drops below zero on around 218 miles of designated roads.
