In time for the start of the winter season, almost half a metre of snow fell. Such an amount of snow in a short time is a great challenge for those who ensure that the streets are almost free of snow for traffic. Snow clearing in Saanen worked well during the last major onset of winter. A new cooperation between the municipality and AAS Security is beginning to bear fruit.

Improving on a sound basis
It has been almost a year since Christian Brand stepped into Otto Tritten’s shoes as head of the street maintenance depot. “He gave me the best possible training, and I was able to take my time and see where certain things could be improved,” said Brand. One concern for him was the safety of drivers and pedestrians who, in some cases, endanger not only themselves but also other road users with “hair-raising manoeuvres” around snow-clearing machines. Brand wanted to counteract this dangerous situation. A safety service now regulates traffic during snow clearance.

Increased traffic safety
“We sat down with AAS Security in Saanen to find out how we could increase traffic safety around snow clearance on our roads,” said Brand. The managing director of AAS Security, Martin Brand, confirmed that his organisation is now also providing the municipality of Saanen with three traffic safety employees in Saanen and Gstaad since the beginning of winter 2021/22. Dressed in high-visibility jackets and equipped with signal wands, they walk in front of the snow blowers to regulate traffic. “This practice has worked well in Schönried over the past six years,” explained Martin Brand.

BASED ON AVS/KEREM S MAURER