04/12/2024 - Winter is here but we are prepared!

The council is ready to help in this weather with its fleet of gritters on standby for when icy conditions are forecast and the temperature plummets and this year Joley has joined the winter maintenance gritting crew as Luton’s first female HGV driver. The crews are prepared to salt nearly half of Luton’s roads to help prevent icy patches or snow forming – that’s more than 142 miles with approximately 1,400 tonnes of salt – equivalent to the weight of 325 elephants.  

Information comes from weather recording stations on a daily basis and if there is a risk of ice or snow, Luton’s gritting fleet gets on the road.

There are over 150 salt bins, at known trouble spots such as sharp bends and steep hills. Anyone can use these supplies to treat localised icy patches on the road and footpaths, although they should not be used for domestic driveways and footpaths.

Councillor Javed Hussain, portfolio holder for sustainable development and highways at Luton Council said: “Our qualified highway engineers are using bespoke systems to monitor the weather in Luton to assess when a cold spell comes and that enables us to react quickly and get our fleet of gritter out on the roads working hard to make Luton’s roads safe to travel on should ice or snow form.

“But, it is impossible to treat every road and people should not assume a road has been treated so the advice is to keep your distance and your speed down so that everyone is safe when on our roads.”

You can also find out the latest salting decisions by checking out the council’s social media channels @lutoncouncil.