Slip sliding away.

The main roads are getting gritted, but the side roads and estate roads aren't, and after a few days of being compacted down by traffic, they are now turning into skating rinks.  I can accept that maybe the council doesn't have the resources to see to these minor roads, but whatever happened to grit bins?  Give us the grit and we'll see to ourselves - it seems such an obvious solution.  In my younger days, grit bins were a common sight - where did they go, and why?