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Grass verges and other planted areas by the roadside are known
as soft landscape areas. They help to soften the harshness of a
built-up area and reduce noise. One of our roles is to look after
these areas.
Why do you cut the grass and control weeds?
We cut the grass to:
- keep the verges neat and tidy;
- make the area attractive for local residents; and
- make sure roads, cycle tracks and pavements are kept
clear.
Cutting the grass helps to make the roads safer and makes sure
drivers can see clearly at junctions and bends. This helps everyone
who uses the road, including pedestrians and all riders and
drivers.
On pathways we control the weeds to help keep the pathways safe
to walk on and prevent damage from weed roots.
Where do you cut the grass and how often do you cut it?
There are three areas of grass that we look after.
1. Roadside verges
These are the grass areas between the road and the pavement and are
usually in towns or cities.
In the countryside we cut a strip (one metre wide) along the
side of the road to prevent grass from growing over the road.
We have enough money to cut the verges once a year. Sometimes we
may get more money from other sources, such as district councils.
This allows us to cut the grass more often.
2. Visibility splays
We maintain the grass at road junctions. These areas are called
visibility splays. We cut them at least twice a year (or more if
needed) to make sure you can see clearly in all directions.
3. Amenity areas
Amenity areas are found away from roads and pavements, but are
still part of the road. They help to 'soften' the hard look of
roads and pavements. We cut the grass in these areas once a year.
We may cut it more often if we receive more money from other
sources, such as district councils.
Why don't you cut some areas of grass when your workmen are
cutting the grass in my road?
There are many different landowners, including housing
associations, district councils, town councils, parish councils and
so on. Each one has responsibility for their own areas of grass. We
only look after grass that is on land that we own.
Why do the grass-cutters leave the cuttings?
To take the cuttings away would really increase our costs. However,
the site will be left tidy.
Do your workmen cut the flowers?
We tell them not to cut any spring flowers such as daffodils and
bluebells. People do ask us to not cut other flowers such as wild
garlic so we do our best to make sure we don't cut them down.
There are certain areas called 'roadside nature reserves'. We
leave these alone to grow and encourage wildlife and plants. We and
the Kent Wildlife Trust look after these areas.
If a verge is driven over, how do you repair it?
Our maintenance team will repair the area by sowing new grass seed.
Sometimes we put in posts or bollards to prevent cars from driving
over the area.
Where do you control weed growth?
In towns and villages, we spray pavements made of bricks or
concrete slabs with weedkiller. We spray pavements made of tarmac
along the sides where they meet a grass verge, a private boundary
(garden) or the edge of the kerb. We may also treat and control the
'soft verge' areas.
How often do you treat the weeds?
We spray them with weedkiller twice a year. Around May, we use a
total weedkiller. This is followed by another weedkiller around
September. If the weeds are really bad, we may spray weedkiller
again in the summer.
We can carry out spot treatments to control weeds in a particular
area. Environmental services remove dead weeds when they sweep the
areas.
Is the spray dangerous or harmful to people, animals or other
wildlife?
The chemical we use on pavements is called 'glyphosate'. Like all
chemicals we must use and handle it correctly. It can be moderately
irritating to eyes and cause pain and redness. It does not irritate
skin. It is the most commonly used weedkiller and is marketed as
'safe to its users and to members of the public and harmless to the
environment'.
Will the spray damage my garden?
The workmen will decide whether the conditions are right for
spraying. They will take account of the weather and other
conditions in the area where they are working. They will not spray
when it is raining as the weedkiller will not work. The spray may
damage your garden if:
- it is windy; or
- our workmen make a mistake.
What special weeds are controlled?
Some weeds (such as ragwort, giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed and
Himalayan balsam) need special treatments, which may be covered by
acts of parliament.
Highways inspectors are trained to recognise these harmful
weeds. We tell our specialist workmen about them and they normally
deal with them quickly. We already know about many areas where they
have been found and are making sure we keep them under control.
How do you check your workmen's progress?
We visit sites where grass has been cut to check it has been done
properly. We also go to sites where we control weeds, about three
weeks after weedkiller has been used. This is to see whether the
weeds are dying. Generally, the weedkiller takes about this long to
work.
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