Each local authority creates gritting routes and regimes to keep their most important roads (and in some cases footpaths) and networks clear come bad winter weather. Most LAs create these as line datasets. So the national dataset is a line format dataset.
We now have two layers: one for road gritting and one for footpath.
Some LAs collect this data as a polygon dataset. We are working with them to convert this into line formats in the future.
We have removed trunk roads that are cleared by private companies e.g BEAR and AMEY from this dataset for the time being as they aren't currently under the LA gritting route regime.
Eventually, the Street Gazetteer will enable us to identify these routes more accurately and coherently.