Tag Archives: snow clearing

Gritting

How gritting works

The University of Kent’s Landscape Management team are always up early and working hard to keep the campus safe and serviceable for all. During icy weather, they grit the campus roads and footpaths to reduce the risk of accidents to staff, students, and visitors.

What many people do not realise is, there is a fine art to gritting. Timing is everything. If you go too early, you waste the grit, because it lands on a dry road and is blown away by the displaced air as vehicles drive past. If it is raining heavily then it just washes away. Ideally the grit goes down on a damp surface and starts to stick, but if you are too late the surface is already frozen and the salt has to work harder to be effective but it will prevent big sheets of ice forming.

The salt is hygroscopic which means that it attracts moisture from the air and it only becomes activated when it is ‘trafficked’. When the grit is driven over the salt grinds down and mixes with the moisture it attracts and becomes the ideal brine, a salty water, which is when it is most effective.

Similar to how local authorities manage gritting, the Estates department will grit all University of Kent roads and main footpaths before starting on other areas across the campuses. Further information on the prioritised primary routes can be found on Goggle Maps.

For more information see the University’s Snow and Ice Policy.

Planning your Journey: during adverse weather

As the weather is beginning to get colder, it is important that you understand what to do during adverse weather. The Transport Team’s Travel During Adverse Weather page has been updated with relevant information to ensure you know what to do if adverse weather occurs.

The team have also created a Top tips to help you plan your journey in advance of travelling in snow, ice, high winds and torrential rain to ensure you are always prepared for travel disruption and are winter ready. In addition, the Transport Team’s Planning your Journey pages are updated regularly with useful journey planning tools and advice to assist you. Remember the weather can change at any time, you should be prepared for this before you start your journey.

Where possible the Transport Team will endeavour to keep the @unikent_travel twitter feed updated with all transport information and any travel disruptions on or around our campuses.

Driving: 

Ensure that you and your vehicle are prepared for driving in adverse weather conditions. Read some top tips to prepare for driving during the winter and don’t forget to plan your journey before you leave so you are aware of any disruptions.

Public transport, cycling and walking:

  • Plan your journey, check if there are problems on public transport or local roads
  • Delay your journey, if possible, to allow temperatures to rise and ice or snow to melt
  • Avoid footways in the shade. It takes longer for ice or snow to melt in the shade
  • Always wear appropriate footwear and reflective/bright clothing
  • Ensure that you have a torch or lights so motorists and others can see you when walking or cycling. Think Be Bright Be Seen.

Other Useful Links:

Understanding snow clearing

Snow ploughs only work effectively when snow is more than 5cm (2inches) deep. If snow fall reaches this level, Grounds Maintenance will use a combination of snow ploughs and other methods to clear the snow as snow ploughs cannot go over road humps or similar traffic calming measures.

Grit does not melt snow and therefore grit cannot be applied on top of deep snow. Refer to understanding gritting for more information on how gritting works.

Similar to how local authorities manage snow clearance, the Estates department will aim to clear all University of Kent roads and main footpaths before starting on other areas across the campuses. Please refer to the University’s Snow and Ice Policy for more information.

 

Understanding snow clearing

Snow ploughs only work effectively when snow is more than 5cm (2inches) deep. If snow fall reaches this level, Grounds Maintenance will use a combination of snow ploughs and other methods to clear the snow as snow ploughs cannot go over road humps or similar traffic calming measures.

Grit does not melt snow and therefore grit cannot be applied on top of deep snow. Refer to understanding gritting for more information on how gritting works.

Similar to how local authorities manage snow clearance, the Estates department will aim to clear all University of Kent roads and main footpaths before starting on other areas across the campuses. Please refer to the University’s Snow and Ice Policy for more information.