Editorial
Lack of snow removal sparks concern for student safety
February 28, 2014
This winter has been brutal.
With the negative temperatures and the messy snowstorms, sidewalks and parking lots on campus have succumbed to the collection of ice and snow.
As students we are expected to trek across campus and lately, it has been quite a dangerous activity. The ice has invaded the majority of sidewalk space, leaving students to slip and slide rather than walk to classes. The lack of ice removal and salt has not gone unnoticed by students and it is concerning that there is potential to get injured.
There are snow removal vehicles that have been seen clearing pathways on campus from snow. Without them, students would not be able to distinguish sidewalks from lawns; therefore the snow removal crew is appreciated.
However, the timing of the snow removal could be more directed away from the busy passing times for students. The snow removal vehicles are usually cleaning off the sidewalks as students are walking to class and it can be quite dangerous. Coming so close to students with equipment that large is subject to injuries, as the drivers do not always see students.
More snow removal and safety concerns are brought on by the parking lots on campus. In previous years, students have received emails to relocate their vehicles so that the parking lots can be properly plowed. However, this year that is not the case. After this past week’s snowfall, students are now climbing over frozen snow piles to get to their cars. Although there has been an email sent out to some students to move their vehicles from certain lots, it did not happen until a week after the snow had arrived.
Snowplows do plow the drive of the parking lots but that pushes the snow behind cars, leaving students to shovel themselves out. While that is not a big deal on its own, the problem starts when everyone has to remove the snow that is blocking his or her vehicle in. Where does that snow go? The answer is: between the vehicles. Not only are students having to pile up snow in every open space, they also have to clean off the snow that has accumulated on top of their vehicles which once again, ends up between them. This is a hassle when students need to open their vehicle doors or even back out of their parking spaces because snow is piled up under the tires and in front of the doors.
With March only being days away, we can only hope the warm weather arrives soon, eliminating the snow and ice problems. Until then, stay safe.