School children from across the local area have been helping Falkirk Council get ready for winter to name all 12 of the Council’s gritter fleet.
Names were put forward from Head of Muir, Comely Park, St Andrew’s RC, Airth, St Francis Xavier’s RC, Avonbridge, St Bernadette’s Primary Schools as well as the Inclusion and Wellbeing Service.
The final names chosen are:
- The Meltonator
- Gritney Spears
- Snowbie Wan Kenobie
- Walter The Amazing Salter
- Frost Buster
- Sub Zero
- Frostbite
- Mickey Melter
- Snow Bro
- Betty McYeti
- Sandman Sam
- Ready Salted
The naming of the gritters means that communities can follow where gritters are 24/7 on an online map during spells of winter weather. The online map also shows where grit bins are located. Our gritters page gives an explanation of how Falkirk Council prioritises its roads and pavement gritting.
Councillor Paul Garner, spokesperson for the Environment said: “The pupils came up with some great ideas for the names and these will now be put on to our gritting fleet so they are recognisable in communities. The new online map will be able to show in live time where we are working and how we target high priority areas first.”
Area Roads Engineer Gary Neill added: “This winter we have invested in an automated gritting system. The system will ensure grit isn’t wasted by using GPS to identify where the gritter is, the vehicle speed and road width to automatically dispense the right amount of salt. This system makes it safer for the driver and will save us a significant amount of money year-on-year.”
Over the next month or so the Roads team will take the newly named gritters out into schools to explain how they work and to raise awareness of being ready for winter.
Below - Our roads team getting ready for winter.
