Well I thought Cardiff in the snow was like another world. I have never experienced anything like it, either in Ceredigion or when I was a City lad back in my Newport, South Wales days. Hats off to the Cardiff City Council; although they may be working extremely hard, they can create an image of sitting it out and making it look as if they are doing nothing. Now that's not a personal opinion, but one that was replicated whenever I talked to people across the City, and from different walks of life.
The constant theme was no gritting for the poor pedestrians, and why don't we all get a car.
Everything is geared up for the car during the snow, and broken limbs or the elderly being locked in doors seems to be the norm. In many ways it sorts of smacks in the face of the Cardiff free bike ride scheme. As the Council tries to reduce car usage, pedestrians struggling along through the deep slush or sliding on the compacted ice, all wanted cars! Good job that this is not the closing moments of a football promotion campaign as it seems to this casual observer to be one significant own goal.
Call it severe, call it the big freeze, liken it to the worst in a century, but come on folks, some grit on one side of the major pedestrian routes leading into the city and especially where there are road crossings. While I'm on my snow sledge; did any one think out the sloping pavement idea adjacent to pedestrian crossings? Fine in the good weather, but when it's poor, it's poor. Slope and ice equals falls. Little wonder that I came across two push button crossing light boxes dangling from the posts and attached only by their wires. Slope, ice, about to fall equals grab box and pray. Oh, for a little grit where it matters.
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