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How often are the trails scattered and cleaned?
According to the director of the Road Research Institute of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) prof. Dr. Audrius Vaitkus, winter trail maintenance in Lithuania depends on where those trails are: inside or outside the urban area. On the roads, the trails are maintained from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in winter. In the case of extremely slippery pavement, such as after a rain shower or the formation of a wet layer of ice on the pavement, the pavement slip should be eliminated within 12 hours. When clearing snow and ice, it is recommended to use fine gravel or crushed stone to reduce slippage.
In cities, response time and standards of care depend on the requirements established by each municipality. For example, in Vilnius, the trail surface must be sprayed and slippery removed within 2 hours in the event of a crash. on the most intensive hiking trails, in 4 hours. – lower intensity.
According to Rasa Ražanskienė, Head of the Urban Management and Environmental Protection Division of the Vilnius City Municipal Administration, according to the valid contracts of the City of Vilnius with the contractors, the sidewalks of the representative streets are cleaned and sprayed in 4 hours. since the end of the snowfall. On other streets, within 8 hours, in courtyards, within 12 hours. During snowfall, the cleaning of the route is carried out with the width of the cleaning equipment mechanism – not less than 0.8 m.
It is recommended to maintain trails in urban areas by completely clearing and melting snow and ice.
“It is recommended to maintain trails in urban areas by completely clearing and melting snow and ice. This would facilitate the mobility of people in ecological conditions. Recommended materials for spreading trails: salt, 0.25 / 4 or 2/5 mm fr. a mixture of gravel (crushed stone), with or without salts ”, says A.Vaitkus.
How to properly clean snow in the courtyards of apartment buildings?
Sidewalks in patios can be sprinkled with salt, sand, and fine gravel with or without salt. First, you need to remove the snow by scraping it off the sidewalks. It is appropriate to provide snow storage places. A common mistake is made when the snow on the sidewalks in the gardens is not removed from the sidewalk, it is only sprinkled with sand. In this way, during repeated snowmelt or snowfall, the pavement becomes very slippery, uneven and dangerous.
“The essential factor in the patios is the removal of snow from the pedestrian traffic area to the designated areas of the yard, removal, spraying of the cleaned areas with salt or friction materials. The choice of spreading materials can be very individual, ”says A. Vaitkus.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Winter in Vilnius
According to R.Ražanskienė, the head of the Vilnius city municipality subdivision, snow removal is carried out only in representative places of the city.
As the number of cyclists in cities increases, so does the focus on bike lanes
With the expansion of the cycle lane network and the appearance of more and more people who use them throughout the year, the need has arisen to modify the requirements for the maintenance of cycle lanes. Like trails, bike lanes are maintained depending on where they are, on the highway or in the city, and their importance. The same standards apply to highway bike lanes as they do to trails.
“In the city of Vilnius, in case of a blockage, the surface of the bike lane should be sprayed, the slip should be eliminated in 2-3 hours, because the cyclist traffic in the city is much more intense than on the highway. The VILNIUS TECH experts provided recommendations on how to maintain the main bicycle routes in Vilnius by clearing the snow, removing the ice and ensuring the complete dissolution of these phenomena within 2 hours. after the rain falls, ”says the teacher.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15 minute photo / Afternoon in quarantine slowed down Druskininkai
According to the expert from VILNIUS TECH, it is recommended to clean the sidewalks in the patios with a width of at least 0.8m so that people can safely reach the bus stops and other important points. When it stops snowing, the pavement should be cleaned across its width.
The benefits of snow collection points: what are they?
According to the professor, the provision of snow collection points is especially relevant for cities due to the small free space. Before transporting snow to collection points, it is essential to take advantage of nearby locations. For example, undeveloped areas where snow can be collected from nearby areas and allowed to melt.
The provision of snow collection points is particularly relevant for cities due to the small free space.
Exhaust emissions from commercial vehicles have the greatest negative impact on the environment when snow is brought to collection points. In order to keep transportation to a minimum, snow is only removed in cases where there is no possibility of snow accumulating at street entrances or when traffic is in danger to prepare the streets for the expected heavy snowfall. powerful.
Lithuanian cities have planned snow collection and / or melting points, to which snow is transported in the event of heavy and heavy snowfall.
Electrification of freight vehicles should fundamentally change this process in the near future. Therefore, the collection and removal of snow to common collection or de-icing points must become an important priority, allowing more efficient winter maintenance in cities and the protection of the environment.
Environmental impact of snow: solvent substances
According to the expert from VILNIUS TECH, the effect of salt on concrete bridges and viaducts, culverts, foundations is negative. All bases must be waterproof or resistant to water and salts. Sulfates in road maintenance salt have a negative effect on the corrosion of steel structures, car bodies and other steel parts.
By weight, 1 percent. Sulfate-containing sodium chloride solution accelerates steel corrosion up to 6 times compared to 3.5%. by weight with sulfate-free sodium chloride solution. In view of this, the sulfate content of winter maintenance salts should be limited. This is done in accordance with the regulations.
Sodium chloride has a negative effect on the environment. The damaging effects on vegetation are greatest on sidewalks and sidewalk areas. Moving away from the road, this effect diminishes significantly and is ultimately negligible at 12 meters.
Salts that have entered bodies of water, in the case of Vilnius exclusively in the Neris, can have a negative impact on smaller creatures.
“In cities, a large proportion of the salts used for surface care end up in fresh water bodies, rivers and surface lakes. In the case of Vilnius, the salts that have entered the water bodies exclusively in Neris, they have a possible negative impact on the smallest living organisms, microbial vertebrates, the lowest part of the food chain in freshwater. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly improve winter care technologies, materials for melting ice and its speed of propagation ”, says the director of the Road Research Institute.
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