"With the temperatures outside just above freezing, the City of Tallinn's contractors started collecting winter granite aggregate from the more intensively used cycle paths as well as light traffic paths at the beginning of the week," said Tarmo Antson, head of infrastructure maintenance at the Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department.

"We will certainly keep a constant eye on the weather forecast and be ready to combat slippage in the event the weather conditions change," he added.

Although a large amount of granite chippings have noticed in some of the city's green areas, they are not yet being cleared away. "We are not yet clearing the green areas of granite chippings as the landscaping is still soft and the green areas may become damaged during clearing operations. Major spring cleaning will start as soon as the weather permits –  most likely in the second half of March or early April," Antson said.

Granite chippings will no longer be used for street maintenance this winter.

"Most of the granite chippings will not be reusable next season because the chippings that are collected are mixed with debris and so are no longer suitable for the street," Antson said.

The city also uses aqueous solutions of sodium chloride and chlorine during street maintenance.

Tallinn is divided into five different maintenance districts, with different contractors responsible in each.

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