Cambridgeshire Council’s lead for highways Alex Beckett is under fire for saying that the way conventional routes are gritted "can be sexist", burying how this could improve cycling and walking under a blanket of snow and ice.

Councillor Beckett’s argument for his choice of words was because he believes the network is “primarily focused on getting men to work in cars”, and that it could “leave active travel users counting the costs with broken limbs”.

As reported by the Cambridge Independent (link is external), Beckett said in the Liberal Democrat chair of the county council's highways and transports committee: “We do need to review the network. It’s currently years out of date and primarily focused on getting men to work in cars. It’s a network focused on businessmen and councillors, not representative of normal people and their lives.”

The comments were described as “bizarre” by the leader of the Conservative opposition Steve Count. Similar charges were held against Beckett on the ever-balanced social media, with even the controversial Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson getting involved.

However, as the US consulting firm FSG reports (link is external), a Swedish gender equality firm found that the routine of clearing snow typically benefited men over women. During winter, main roads — mostly used by men — were prioritised over foot and cycle-paths, quite often used by women travelling with children in pushchairs.

They’ve even got the data to back it up — 79 per cent of pedestrian injuries occurred in winter, with 69 per cent of these injuries suffered by women. Clearing the paths first astonishingly led to halving of these injury-inducing incidents.

Gritting bike lanes has been an issue of contention between cyclists and councils for a while now, with major cycle routes like the Taff trail being ignored in the cold and leaving many cyclists to slip and hurt themselves.

Although there have been improvements, notably in Waltham Forest, London where snow was cleared off from the cycle lanes this winter (link is external), gritting cycle routes still remains an afterthought in other places in the country.

This row in Cambridgeshire has ensued after the joint administration of Lib-Dem, Labour and Independent councillors agreed to take out £300,000 from the highways budget by undertaking “a risk-based review of the network covered by winter gritting to ensure it is optimised and giving value for money”, but also adding a “£600,000” reserve fund to “mitigate against risks of difficult winter, particularly in the highways and gritting departments”

Currently, Cambridgeshire’s 37 vehicles grit 34 per cent of the road network in the county, according to the council’s budget papers. The papers also note: “This is high when compared to most other authorities who treat around 25 per cent. A review of the network could achieve financial savings without a significant increase in risk to road users or the authority.”

“The DfT [Department for Transport] also gives us funding based on having a fully developed, regularly updated resilience network. I’m sure that none of us would want to risk that funding,” said councillor Beckett.

He said that this meant £300,000 more would be available, if required to improve the paths for active travel users — and for those engaged in social care, rather than being focused on business users.

Conservative councillor Steve Tierney, however criticised Beckett for thinking “only men drive to work and then amusingly accuses others of sexism”. “I can assure him there’s no shortage of female drivers going to work, certainly not where I live, and it’s an odd view for the chairman of highways,” he added.

Self-proclaimed philosopher Peterson quoted a tweet accusing “two anti-car zealots being in charge of traffic policy” with a profound acclaim that “reasonable people have abdicated their civic responsibilities”.

To which, Beckett replied, “I appear to have irked Jordan Peterson and Tories across the land by suggesting winter maintenance should consider everyone rather than just car drivers”.

https://road.cc/content/news/gritting-routes-sexist-says-councillor-299417

On 19/02/2023 02:31 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> Cambridgeshire Council’s lead for highways Alex Beckett is under fire for saying that the way conventional routes are gritted "can be sexist", burying how this could improve cycling and walking under a blanket of snow and ice.
> Councillor Beckett’s argument for his choice of words was because he believes the network is “primarily focused on getting men to work in cars”, and that it could “leave active travel users counting the costs with broken limbs”.

But... but... but...

Mason was saying here only two weeks ago, that fairy-cyclists are not
fazed by snow and certainly not hampered by it.

Was he lying (again)?

I'm in Cambridgeshire and gritting boils my p155 ..... they grit when they don't need to go out but do "because the tempeature" etc..... but the roads are dry....they miss the so called "cycleways" out of the city..... I've suggested an "On call" type system when a decision is made during a night shift to go out or not...I've said to some councillors that setting an arbitary temperature based on a possible forecast is madness, dumping tons of grit on the roads and a monitor and treat approach is better in the long run......then you will save on grit supply, road damage and be able also to focus on the so far untreated cycle ways.

Clearly we must also consider that the county has had a Conservative rule for 45 years and bias towards cars...and apart from the odd "get us in the news and we are good tories" so we have this bike infrastructure vanity project that is all they focussed on. The Tories voted for a new Shire Hall....out of the city to save cash....and it's on a former airfield with poor cycle & public transport links. However it does have a bike parking of sorts but you wouldn't want to leave your bike there. Now the current administration of No Overall Control is trying to sort out this blind Car focused attitude. At least in my Market Town we are getting some roads resurfaced, albeit 10 years plus in the waiting.

On 19/02/2023 04:50 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> I'm in Cambridgeshire

We thought you were in 'Ull or environs?

> and gritting boils my p155

Is that like a P45?

I ask you because you're the most likely to know what a P45 looks like,
after that infamous BP AGM in London that time. You know... when you
were summoned by the MD after TMH and Judith went to the meeting and
denounced you for surfing the web while you were supposed to be on night
duty for the janitorial team.

> ..... they grit when they don't need to go out but do "because the
temperature" etc..... but the roads are dry....

Only three dots in an ellipsis, old bean.

> they miss the so called "cycleways" out of the city.....

Who "so calls" them that?

But... [see? only three dots there!] the whole idea of gritting is to
prepare for a time - whenever it comes - when the streets are *not* dry.
In other words, when snow is forecast to be more likely than usual.

It's a "precaution".

Fairy-cyclists aren't big on precautions, though. We know that.

I've suggested an "On call" type system when a decision is made during a
night shift to go out or not...

[That's better! Just three dots... But you left no character space after
the ellipsis and before your next word (which was "I've"). Naughty boy!]

> I've said to some councillors that setting an arbitary temperature
based on a possible forecast is madness, dumping tons of grit on the
roads and a monitor and treat approach is better in the long
run.....then you will save on grit supply, road damage and be able also
to focus on the so far untreated cycle ways.

"...dumping tons of grit on the roads and a monitor and treat approach
is better in the long run..."

I wonder whether you meant to say that the way it actually came out? :-)

If you "think" that the actual council, or any part thereof, sits around
on a cold night waiting to decide whether the gritters should be
unleashed, think again. The officers of the authority make the decision,
based on the policy of the council and the facts as reported by the
weather forecasters.

And maybe you might cool it with the attitude... I bet they talk about
your visits to the Shire Hall for days afterwards. And not necessarily
in a nice way.

> Clearly we must also consider that the county has had a Conservative
rule for 45 years and bias towards cars...

Fancy taking more notice of a majority rather than of a tiny and
totally-unrepresentative minority!

Anyone knows that democracy means giving <2% everything they want - for
free - and making the others pay for it, eh? :-)

> and apart from the odd "get us in the news and we are good tories" so
we have this bike infrastructure vanity project that is all they
focussed on.

Good description of the project. That's all any fairy-cycling project
is, of course.

> The Tories voted for a new Shire Hall....out of the city to save cash....

Now, see? You're slipping back into your old habits again!

I remind you: three dots for an ellipsis.

> and it's on a former airfield with poor fairy-cycle & public
transport links.

What do you mean? Are there no roads linking the outside world to the
new Shire Hall? Are buses not allowed along them?

> However it does have a fairy-bike parking of sorts but you wouldn't
want to leave your bike there. Now the current administration of No
Overall Control is trying to sort out this blind Car focused attitude.
At least in my Market Town we are getting some roads resurfaced, albeit
10 years plus in the waiting.

Fairy-cyclists, eh?

Never satisfied, are you?

What's the matter with the fairy-bike-parking such that you don't want
to leave your fairy-cycle there? Is the facility not garish, ugly and
wastefully expensive enough for you?

Have you "thought" [I know, I know] of asking for a number of green
metal fairy-cycle bins instead?

[NB: "Ellipsis":

I prefer the AP style, but the Chicago style is perfectly acceptable.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis>]

During the cold snap last December, the small local roads that I use were ice rinks for a couple of weeks. I left the bike at home and walked mostly. My commute is only a mile and a half across town and walking is still quicker than de-icing the car and sitting in traffic.

What I really noticed was that even when the larger, in town, roads were gritted the pavements were left in an absolutely treacherous state. Despite appropriate footwear (though crampons seemed a bit extreme) I slipped several times, once coming extremely close to smashing my un-helmeted head into a stone windowsill.

I wouldn't couch the prioritisation of gritting routes as sexist, but surely there could be some provision for keeping walking routes safe, even if it were some temporarily positioned grit bins that residents could make use of.

On 20/02/2023 04:30 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> During the cold snap last December, the small local roads that I use were ice rinks for a couple of weeks. I left the bike at home and walked mostly. My commute is only a mile and a half across town and walking is still quicker than de-icing the car and sitting in traffic.
>
> What I really noticed was that even when the larger, in town, roads were gritted the pavements were left in an absolutely treacherous state. Despite appropriate footwear (though crampons seemed a bit extreme) I slipped several times, once coming extremely close to smashing my un-helmeted head into a stone windowsill.
>
> I wouldn't couch the prioritisation of gritting routes as sexist, but surely there could be some provision for keeping walking routes safe, even if it were some temporarily positioned grit bins that residents could make use of.

Better councils have those. The nearest one to us (we don't live on a
hill) is about three hundred yards away.

Ideally, one would want footways gritted, but there IS a limit to what
council employees do in one night, so priorities have to be set and
operated. Or maybe they could use Father Christmas's magic sleigh (the
one with no capacity limit and the ability to travel at hypersonic speeds)?

So how we create a way to address this and make it visible?

Traffic flow? Some cycle tracks in London now carry more than their share of traffic per area of road - do they get gritted?

What is traffic flow on the Bath-Bristol cycle path compared to the local roads. Does that get gritted?

Why do you presume that not gritting roads results in more RTCs? It should result in more people being unable to get to work.

I think that the decision making for what/how to manage effects of cold weather (snow, ice etc) should be based on the needs of the general population, and not just prioritising people getting to work.

I think that's only fair. The cost of managing cold weather effects is paid out of public coffers. If we said "we'll only manage areas that are used more by men than women" that would be an obviously sexist decision. What we have in reality is effectively the same outcome.

On 20/02/2023 04:44 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> So how we create a way to address this and make it visible?
>
> Traffic flow? Some cycle tracks in London now carry more than their share of traffic per area of road - do they get gritted?

Are gritting lorries permitted to use fairy-cycle "tracks"?

Be careful what you wish for.

Or would you expect pedestrian slave labour to grit the surface and
clear the snow and some 17-yr-old virgins to sprinkle your intended
route with rose petals before gratefully allowing you to have your way
with them?

I don't think gritting roads falls into that category though.

Roads are chosen to be gritted based on the economic needs of the area.

If that happens to disproportionately benefit men that doesn't necessarily make it a bad policy.

Gritting cycle paths will (in the UK at least) disproportionately benefit men too. That doesn't mean that's a bad policy either.

On 20/02/2023 04:47 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> Why do you presume that not gritting roads results in more RTCs? It should result in more people being unable to get to work.
> I think

Ooh... I'm not sure that that's right at all...

> that the decision making for what/how to manage effects of cold weather (snow, ice etc) should be based on the needs of the general population, and not just prioritising people getting to work.

It's actually based on the biggest feasible return in *safety* for the
available resources.

That's all: SAFETY and as much of it as can be gained.

> I think that's only fair. The cost of managing cold weather effects is paid out of public coffers. If we said "we'll only manage areas that are used more by men than women" that would be an obviously sexist decision. What we have in reality is effectively the same outcome.

Do you actually understand that you're not right in the head?

Have you no sense of self-perception at all?

Which groups lose out? All of them. Sounds fairer to me.

Your suggestion that increasing the tax take is more important than getting kids to school is an example of intent gender bias, not an argument against it.

> I think that's only fair. The cost of managing cold weather effects is
> paid out of public coffers. If we said "we'll only manage areas that are
> used more by men than women" that would be an obviously sexist decision.
> What we have in reality is effectively the same outcome.

Given the way Councils think, be careful what you wish for; they could end
up gritting only half the road, or quite possibly not gritting them at all
on the grounds of ‘equal misery for all’.

--
Spike

The Leamington Spa bike tracks is a good example of how they perceive a story. The building of the tracks themselves I would see as a good, positive story for cycling but, please do correct us if I'm wrong, I can't find any previous articles relating to the planning and construction of the tracks on Road CC, no links to previous articles in the article itself, like you get in other stories on here. No, just the actually article about opposition from a few locals to get a reaction.

On 20/02/2023 06:18 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> The Leamington Spa fairy-bike tracks is a good example of how they perceive a story. The building of the tracks themselves I would see as a good, positive story for fairy-cycling but, please do correct us if I'm wrong, I can't find any previous articles relating to the planning and construction of the tracks on Road CC, no links to previous articles in the article itself, like you get in other stories on here. No, just the actually article about opposition from a few locals to get a reaction.

Some people are just unimportant and not worthy of attention in the
papers. Fairy-cyclists, for instance.

Others are the opposite and get to make their case(s) in the media.
Local residents prejudiced by new and unsuitable developments, for instance.

A bank holiday is a good proxy for the economic effect of a day when fewer people can get to work.

If anything a significant snow day will have a far larger economic effect than a bank holiday.

Men make less use of GP services but nobody calls for the existing GP services to be cut in order to fund health services that are predominantly used by men.

Women make less use of gritted roads and people call for the number of gritted roads to be reduced in order to fund gritting in areas predominantly used by women.

Encouraging people to make use of the services provided and exploring the barriers to that is a valid and fair approach to both issues.