Manchester will tackle wintery weather with added grit this year after a fleet of new salt-spreaders were christened by a pun-tastic Twitter poll
Eight new gritters will hit the streets emblazoned with names suggested by the public, as part of a £960,000 investment in maintaining Manchester’s roads.
Around 2,000 suggestions were submitted to the council before being whittled down to 24 of the best and being put to a social media vote.
The new vehicles will be named:
- Basil Salty
- Grit Astley
- Gritter Thunberg
- Slushay Away
- Snowbi-Gone Kenobi
- Snowel Gallagher
- Spreaddie Flintoff
- Spreaddie Mercury
Executive Member for the Environment, Planning and Transport, Councillor Angeliki Stogia, said: “So many suggestions were received that it was hard to whittle them down, but the public decided on some cracking names for our new gritters – including a Mancunian connection in ‘Snowel Gallagher’.
“Our investment in these vehicles will help to ensure that our roads, footways and cycle lanes are kept safe and accessible in the face of harsh weather. And people might see the name they voted for on the roads, meaning that the vehicles will be spreading a little cheer, as well as grit, throughout the winter months.”
The bright orange vehicles could spread thousands of tonnes of rock salt, stored at the council’s depot, in an effort to keep over 430 miles of Manchester’s streets moving.
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/snowel-gallagher-and-gritter-thunberg-will-keep-manchester-moving/