Grass cutting (??) on Dual Carrigeway to Oran

Dave Joyce

Couldn't believe the crap with what the radio called "grass cutting" this evening on the dual carrigeway to Oranmore. I believe they were hedge cutting too:rolleyes: but the way/state they had the roads in was ridiculous. Now, I'll be honest and say I'm City Council worker so I may be accused of having an agenda here but I'd love to know how much this shi'te costs now with ALL the private workers/machinery compared to when the County Council workers did the job.

To clarify, when GCC cut the grass, there no lane closures/masses of cones/trucks/multiple machines/dozen workers only the large mower, couple of lads with strimmers and a van. There is NO WAY this is costing the same let alone less:mad::mad:

But I suppose as FG:rolleyes: say, SME's are the backbone of the economy.

sgthighway

They resurfaced some of it and IMO they did a great job of cutting back all the trees.

dloob

It would be a county council rather than a city council job wouldn't it?
They seem to cause massive disruption every year cutting the grass.

Madame Razz

dloob wrote: »

It would be a county council rather than a city council job wouldn't it?
They seem to cause massive disruption every year cutting the grass.

At least they did it during midterm this time!!!

snubbleste

Put in an FoI request to the Council and ask about tenders, costs, duration etc.

Gareth2011

Dave Joyce wrote: »

Couldn't believe the crap with what the radio called "grass cutting" this evening on the dual carrigeway to Oranmore. I believe they were hedge cutting too:rolleyes: but the way/state they had the roads in was ridiculous. Now, I'll be honest and say I'm City Council worker so I may be accused of having an agenda here but I'd love to know how much this shi'te costs now with ALL the private workers/machinery compared to when the County Council workers did the job.

To clarify, when GCC cut the grass, there no lane closures/masses of cones/trucks/multiple machines/dozen workers only the large mower, couple of lads with strimmers and a van. There is NO WAY this is costing the same let alone less:mad::mad:

But I suppose as FG:rolleyes: say, SME's are the backbone of the economy.

you said there was no lane closure? no cones no nothing any signs even? I'm just asking cause i just got called tomorrow to do a job in a town where they will be cutting the grass and im the safe pass and signing,lighting and guarding card holder but ive never actually set up a job on my own. bit nervous of it to be honest. i know i need signs but not 100% on lane closure id say i do. any ideas?

dilallio

Dave Joyce wrote: »

Couldn't believe the crap with what the radio called "grass cutting" this evening on the dual carrigeway to Oranmore. I believe they were hedge cutting too:rolleyes: but the way/state they had the roads in was ridiculous. Now, I'll be honest and say I'm City Council worker so I may be accused of having an agenda here but I'd love to know how much this shi'te costs now with ALL the private workers/machinery compared to when the County Council workers did the job.

To clarify, when GCC cut the grass, there no lane closures/masses of cones/trucks/multiple machines/dozen workers only the large mower, couple of lads with strimmers and a van. There is NO WAY this is costing the same let alone less:mad::mad:

But I suppose as FG:rolleyes: say, SME's are the backbone of the economy.

Hi Dave,
About 3 years ago I was driving in the dual-carriageway from the briarshill roundabout towards the ballybane roundabout past the clayton.

I was using the fast lane to overtake, and I was well within the 100Km speedlimit when I noticed a man driving against me on a drive on mower - he was cutting the grass on the centre of the carriageway.

There were no warning signs or lane closures. Just as I got close to him, he spotted a stone and swerved onto the fast lane - he was driving in the wrong direction. I was forced to brake hard as the left lane was occupied, and I just missed him.

I called the council who said they would investigate and get back to me - they never did.

I would have preferred if they had closed the lane.

Dave Joyce

I would have preferred if they had closed the lane.

Hi Dilallio, the point I was trying to make was that a lot of people nowadays are complaining about how wasteful/how much money it takes for public sector workers to provide certain services. However, I CANNOT for the life of me figure out HOW the private sector guys can do the same job with all of those workers/cones/machinery/inconvenience for LESS than the lads that were doing it. I was not for one minute suggesting that they do so in a dangerous manner but I do think closing off the WHOLE lane is a bit of overkill, for the distance and lenght of time.

I called the council who said they would investigate and get back to me - they never did.

This does not surprise me at all:rolleyes:

Head The Wall

The reason for the lane closure in my opinion was because of possible debris/bits of branches flying from the hedge trimmer onto the road. It also enables the machine doing the trimming to go up and down the lane as it takes more than one pass to trim all the hedges correctly

Robbo

Dave Joyce wrote: »

Hi Dilallio, the point I was trying to make was that a lot of people nowadays are complaining about how wasteful/how much money it takes for public sector workers to provide certain services. However, I CANNOT for the life of me figure out HOW the private sector guys can do the same job with all of those workers/cones/machinery/inconvenience for LESS than the lads that were doing it. I was not for one minute suggesting that they do so in a dangerous manner but I do think closing off the WHOLE lane is a bit of overkill, for the distance and lenght of time.

If you look at how the concessionaries approach the same job on the new motorways, you'll see what's become best practice. To not approach a 100kmph dualler in a similar manner would be a dereliction of the contractor's duty to provide a safe working environment for their employees.

I applaud the "more efficient" job the council may be able to do but there also may be a reason why local authorities are such easy marks in litigation. There may also be a certain laissez faire attitude in place when you know you're indemnified out the wazzoo and you're employer isn't exactly going to bust through large insurance premia or a costly settlement.

To take the serious edge off this, I did have a laugh one day when I saw a council worker on a tractor mower by the Gaol River wearing a lifejacket. So maybe there are some examples of Littlejohn-baiting "elf and safety gone mad".