Taff Trail set to be swept of leaves, but no plan to grit

LEAVES will be cleared from the Taff Trail this autumn, but there are no plans to grit the popular route.

From now on, council maintenance teams will be sweeping the sections of the trail which are most heavily affected by fallen leaves.

Last winter there were complaints from cyclists and others who use the trail that a lack of gritting on icy nights was causing accidents.

On one morning in January, there were tens of complaints.

At that time, the council said it would not be possible to change the service that winter, but that it would be “considered as part of the annual review of the winter service”.

Now, the cabinet member in charge has said that there “isn’t an easy answer”.

Councillor Caro Wild said: “Unfortunately, it is impractical to carry out gritting of the paths manually and using gritting vehicles is also not an option as the vehicles are too large to gain access to the off-road path network.

“We also have to consider the environmental effects of salt-grit being put down in our parks and green corridors.

“Currently, we don’t have an easy answer to this issue, but we will continue to investigate possible solutions and welcome any ideas people may have.”

In a statement to council colleagues, Coun Wild said: “We want cyclists to be safe during the winter months. Cyclists can help keep themselves safe by having good lights on their bikes, wearing visible clothing, ensuring tyres and brakes are fully-functioning and taking extra care in poor conditions.

“But most importantly, we strongly urge vehicle drivers to take extra care to consider the safety of cyclists, by giving extra space, slowing speeds and recognising the serious injury that even the smallest of collisions could cause.”