It's little wonder that DRD Roads Service is being relentlessly pilloried by members of the general public for sticking so rigidly to a gritting policy resulting in the treacherous state of all our rural roads, town footpaths, public car parks and housing developments throughout the entire province.
It is so good to know that our local officials agreed to a meeting with members of Omagh District Council who have been demanding a review of the policy within the council area. Let us hope that the meeting bore some fruit. That said, I feel Roads Service is to be commended for keeping the main arterial thoroughfare pretty clear of snow and ice.
Sadly, the response to pleas to clear pavements, car parks and minor streets within the town itself has fallen on deaf ears. We all know that the wintery conditions were certainly unprecedented for perhaps a generation and the authorities had not planned to have to cope with such a protracted 'big freeze'. However, seeing elderly pedestrians and small children trying to negotiate their way along slippery surfaces - footpaths adjacent to main roads and public car parks -has not been a pretty sight.
So many of them have remained housebound for fear of going out to the shops or to the Health Centre etc, falling down and doing themselves an injury. Pedestrians of any age should not have to endure such hassle were they to be visited with another extremely long cold snap before the winter is out.
One feels that 30 years ago the authorities were better prepared and roads and pavements would have been dealt with far more effectively than they have been this winter. This is all because the local authorities have not been able to agree which agency was responsible for the removal of snow and ice from our pavements and other walkways in the town.
I understand our MLAs at Stormont debated the problem at length without reaching any satisfactory conclusion. Which is simply mind boggling, to say the least. One would hope that the owners of business premises in the town could have devised a plan for clearing the footpaths adjacent to their premises.
However, I understand they have been reluctant to do so for fear of being sued should a pedestrian slip and fall outside their shop. What an appalling health and safety scenario this is! Surely the Assembly should sort this one out by legislation immediately.
As I see it, DRD Roads Service should accept responsibility for clearing main and side streets in towns and villages and the council should look after street pavements and footpaths close to the car parks.
I also feel that Roads Service should be responsible for gritting operations in the main housing developments in the town. Clear lines of demarcation should be observed by the DRD and the local council. Sadly, in Omagh, like other towns a state of 'chaos' has existed and old Joe Public has had to 'grin and bear it' as usual.
Far too much time and effort has been devoted to clearing main thoroughfares while the minor streets and housing estates have been ignored completely.
I heard an irate Omagh resident bitterly complaining on a Radio Ulster programme about the inadequacies of the responsible agencies in the town. No doubt our local councillors would agree with him. It is good to know that those residents with the proper facilities were permitted to pick up supplies of grit at the Arvalee depot - a kindly gesture indeed.
I thought well of the radio caller's suggestion that those unemployed in the town should be provided with shovels and set to work to clear all the pavements at least. I would suggest some council employees as well, as was done, I understand many years ago. Perhaps our able-bodied men were much more public-spirited then. Winston Churchill once said, "Give us the tools and we'll finish the job."
Where clearing the hard packed icy surfaces on Omagh's pavements were concerned this winter, both tools and men to use them were certainly conspicuous by their absence.
Wilfred Breen
Omagh
