Residents of Birmingham have issued urgent calls for the city council to intensify its road gritting efforts after waking on Friday, 9 January 2026, to find key routes blanketed in snow and ice following Storm Goretti.
Residents Report Dangerous Conditions on Untreated Roads
Locals took to social media to describe hazardous scenes across the city, with reports of vehicles losing control and public transport grinding to a halt. On the Reddit platform, a user named 'Signal-Accountant-33' detailed problems on Great Charles Street in the Jewellery Quarter, noting that cars were "sliding" and struggling to ascend hills, crawling at speeds as low as 0.5mph.
On Facebook, resident Roxanne Kossar voiced strong criticism, claiming main roads like the A38 and A45 in Handsworth Wood had not been gritted. "Buses stuck. Cars sliding. What a farce, Birmingham council," she wrote, describing a scene where a person was clearing tyres from stranded buses on Hampstead Road. Another resident, John Turner, directly questioned the council's response, asking: "Where are the gritters then?"
Council Defends Its 'Priority Treated Network' Strategy
In response to the criticism, Birmingham City Council stated that treating every road was impossible with its current resources. A council spokesperson told BirminghamLive that gritting crews had been active at 9am, 7.30pm, and midnight on Thursday, 8 January, with work continuing throughout Friday.
The authority explained it operates a priority treated network, established using government guidance, which focuses resources on the most critical routes. This network covers over 1,200km (more than 700 miles), representing nearly 50 per cent of the total road length within the city.
How Birmingham's Three-Tier Gritting Priority System Works
The council categorises roads into three priority levels for its winter maintenance operations:
- Priority Level 1: All major roads within Birmingham, deemed to need the most attention.
- Priority Level 2: Other roads with heavy traffic that are considered essential to the city's overall road network.
- Priority Level 3: Busy local roads and important routes identified by emergency services. This tier includes all frequent bus routes, main access routes to large residential areas, and key commuter routes.
Despite this structured approach, the immediate aftermath of Storm Goretti has highlighted a clear gap between the council's operational strategy and the expectations of residents facing disrupted journeys and dangerous driving conditions on untreated streets.
