Incredible, isn’t it? A few centimetres of snow and the whole of the Bolton area comes to a complete standstill.
I walked into Westhoughton and back, and saw cars stuck in the same place for 35 minutes.
One driver outside my house tried in vain for 15 minutes to get up a very small incline out of School Street. Another had given up and was standing by their car in Moleneux Road, which was covered in ice. I heard other commuters complaining that they had stood for two hours at Westhoughton station waiting for a train to Manchester. The automatic train information system was giving out information for trains that were not arriving! A signal failure was to blame, apparently. I saw no police directing traffic anywhere.
Yes, the gritters were out —one of the trucks was parked up in Market Street at 10pm on Tuesday night.
Does anyone else think that the public relations comments trotted out each time such chaos ensues are unconvincing?
We can not blame the gritters in their trucks. They are told where and when to work. We can not really blame people’s poor driving standards, as these are now normal.
Where we should be aiming our ire and comment is to those in authority who make decisions that are late or wrong — or not made at all.
It seems that the slightest incident out of the ordinary, like a bit of snow, makes the area’s transport system fall apart.
How do Switzerland, Finland, Canada and other such countries operate with deep snow falls?
Isn’t it about time that we demanded that those in authority are assessed on dealing with adversity?
We constantly hear about award-winning local authorities. But these accolades mean nothing when the transport system is gridlocked because of a bit of snow and repeatedly poor management.
Ainslie Casson, Church Walks, Westhoughton
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article