The Department has confirmed they are revising the policy to include school bus routes in the winter schedule. My energy is drained after this long fight but knowing the roads will be safer for our children makes it worth it. We will keep watching them to ensure they follow through.
April 7, 2023
Final supporters
Ms Julie Harrison
Permanent Secretary
Department for Infrastructure
Clarence Court
10-18 Adelaide Street
Belfast
BT2 8GB
Dear Permanent Secretary,
We the undersigned ask that the Department of Infrastructure commission a comprehensive review of its Winter Gritting Policy, which was last, reviewed by the assembly over twenty years ago.
The current policy is not fit for purpose. It leaves prioritises areas of large population and discriminates against smaller and rural communities. We have witnessed the impact the lack of gritting in rural areas has on our everyday lives no more so than the ability for children to get to school as well as the ability for carers and healthcare professionals to visit and care for the elderly, frail and housebound.
We understand that not every lane and side road can be included in the winter gritting schedule, but at the very least, we believe roads which are a designated school bus route must be included. The children in our schools are being put at risk by the failure of the Department to ensure safe passage to our schools.
In the absence of the Assembly, we are asking you to make the necessary preparations to have the current outdated, discriminatory and inadequate policy reviewed and for us, the taxpaying public a say in a new policy.
Yours sincerely
The Undersigned
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
January 27, 2023
January 26, 2023
The road ahead feels long and the winter cold is already biting at our heels. We are nearing a significant milestone that could force the Department to look our way. Please send this link to a few others today because we cannot afford to let this momentum fade while our children remain at risk.
January 20, 2023
The silence from the department is heavy but I am still sending these letters because the safety of our children on these icy routes is not a request I will abandon. It is exhausting to keep pushing against this wall of neglect while nothing changes on the ground yet I remain committed to seeing this through.
Reached 100 supporters
January 19, 2023
January 18, 2023
The climb is slow and my energy is running thin but we are nearing the first hundred signatures. Please take a moment to pass this link along because we need to show the Department that this oversight affects more people than they want to admit.
78 Comments
It’s a crime that bus drivers are expected to put their lives and those of our children at risk by being expected to drive on dangerously slippery roads to get them to their place of education. All roads on which school buses travel should be gritted as of right
The road at Holy Family Primary School in Annacloy is just horrific when frozen. You should not drive on this road when frozen meaning that children then need to walk from a lay by at the main road nearby and risk falling as they walk down the frozen road.
The road from keady to clea p.s is dreadful in the frost and snow, parents having to keep their children off school because of the conditions of the road in the winter. Every child’s life matters and they shouldn’t have to miss out on education because the road isn’t gritted.
My youngest is 41. And the Fernaloy rd /Madden to Keady rd wasn’t gritted then. Keady school bus didn’t come quite rightly the bus drivers and school children’s lives more important. Just an example of how far this policy is out of date.
These roads need to be gritted as part of the main gritting service. The children going to these schools deserve to made priority as with any other school. There are children missing out on days at school due to roads being treacherous. We all deserve to be able to transport our children to and from school safely.
grit roads and keep our children and parents safe
They should get out there and earn their pay rise and do something about the footpaths in keady and keep the buses running to the schools and when sent out to fill the grit boxes fill dont drive past them and do nothing
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
The Department has confirmed they are revising the policy to include school bus routes in the winter schedule. My energy is drained after this long fight but knowing the roads will be safer for our children makes it worth it. We will keep watching them to ensure they follow through.
April 7, 2023
Final supporters
Ms Julie Harrison
Permanent Secretary
Department for Infrastructure
Clarence Court
10-18 Adelaide Street
Belfast
BT2 8GB
Dear Permanent Secretary,
We the undersigned ask that the Department of Infrastructure commission a comprehensive review of its Winter Gritting Policy, which was last, reviewed by the assembly over twenty years ago.
The current policy is not fit for purpose. It leaves prioritises areas of large population and discriminates against smaller and rural communities. We have witnessed the impact the lack of gritting in rural areas has on our everyday lives no more so than the ability for children to get to school as well as the ability for carers and healthcare professionals to visit and care for the elderly, frail and housebound.
We understand that not every lane and side road can be included in the winter gritting schedule, but at the very least, we believe roads which are a designated school bus route must be included. The children in our schools are being put at risk by the failure of the Department to ensure safe passage to our schools.
In the absence of the Assembly, we are asking you to make the necessary preparations to have the current outdated, discriminatory and inadequate policy reviewed and for us, the taxpaying public a say in a new policy.
Yours sincerely
The Undersigned
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
January 27, 2023
January 26, 2023
The road ahead feels long and the winter cold is already biting at our heels. We are nearing a significant milestone that could force the Department to look our way. Please send this link to a few others today because we cannot afford to let this momentum fade while our children remain at risk.
January 20, 2023
The silence from the department is heavy but I am still sending these letters because the safety of our children on these icy routes is not a request I will abandon. It is exhausting to keep pushing against this wall of neglect while nothing changes on the ground yet I remain committed to seeing this through.
Reached 100 supporters
January 19, 2023
January 18, 2023
The climb is slow and my energy is running thin but we are nearing the first hundred signatures. Please take a moment to pass this link along because we need to show the Department that this oversight affects more people than they want to admit.
78 Comments
I have 5 young children attending school on rural roads. It's absolutely terrifying taking them on roads that are not gritted, especially with many hills and bends. I don't want them to miss out on their education but I don't want to put their lives at risk!! Please grit the roads with schools on them!!
It’s a crime that bus drivers are expected to put their lives and those of our children at risk by being expected to drive on dangerously slippery roads to get them to their place of education. All roads on which school buses travel should be gritted as of right
The road at Holy Family Primary School in Annacloy is just horrific when frozen. You should not drive on this road when frozen meaning that children then need to walk from a lay by at the main road nearby and risk falling as they walk down the frozen road.
The road from keady to clea p.s is dreadful in the frost and snow, parents having to keep their children off school because of the conditions of the road in the winter. Every child’s life matters and they shouldn’t have to miss out on education because the road isn’t gritted.
My youngest is 41. And the Fernaloy rd /Madden to Keady rd wasn’t gritted then. Keady school bus didn’t come quite rightly the bus drivers and school children’s lives more important. Just an example of how far this policy is out of date.
These roads need to be gritted as part of the main gritting service. The children going to these schools deserve to made priority as with any other school. There are children missing out on days at school due to roads being treacherous. We all deserve to be able to transport our children to and from school safely.
grit roads and keep our children and parents safe
They should get out there and earn their pay rise and do something about the footpaths in keady and keep the buses running to the schools and when sent out to fill the grit boxes fill dont drive past them and do nothing
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
Petitions like this
Other petitions you might want to support
Scan to share
Anyone who scans this can sign the petition.
I have 5 young children attending school on rural roads. It's absolutely terrifying taking them on roads that are not gritted, especially with many hills and bends. I don't want them to miss out on their education but I don't want to put their lives at risk!! Please grit the roads with schools on them!!