There’s no business like snow business in the winter months on the Weber State University campuses, and the foul weather can cause headaches for students and staff alike.
Students gathered in the Wildcat Theater Wednesday for the Parking Symposium, which was designed to let students speak directly with those in charge of parking.
The parking committee spoke to students. The committee is made up of students, faculty and staff from different areas of WSU, including the manager of parking services, facilities management and UTA.
Student senators Chelsea Bybee and Andrea Salcedo organized the event to help students express their concerns and have some of their frequently asked questions answered.
One of the main concerns, especially for this time of the year, is snow removal. According to Bybee and Salcedo, this is one of the biggest complaints from students.
“Students always ask about snow not being removed often enough, and why class isn’t cancelled when it snows,” said Salcedo. “I was one of those students before I got involved with Senate. But once I understood the process of it, it made me more understanding.”
A handful of students showed up to the symposium, and many of them had questions for the panel. Senior Charles Smith wanted to bring a suggestion to the panel to see if changes could be made.
“My main idea involves really snowy days,” he said. “At ski resorts when it’s snowy, there are people who park you, and I think that would work out here better than trying to uncover parking lines with a brush. I think it would be more efficient.”
While students asked questions about parking, each panel member talked about their job in regards to parking. Chief LeBlanc, chief of WSUPD and panel member, talked about snow closures and how the process of deciding to close campus due to snow works.
Nancy Collinwood, chair of the parking committee, discussed the prices of parking passes. According to Collinwood, WSU has one of the cheapest rates for parking passes.
Landscape Manager Weston Woodward discussed his role in snow removal on campus. According to Woodward, it’s a very long process to get snow removed.
“We’re cleaning up for days after a storm,” he said. “Even though there was a storm on Monday, we’re still dealing with issues with ice and re-freezing.”
Rick Wade, the Director of Campus Services, added that snow removal is very costly. According to Wade, it costs about $5,000 per inch of fallen snow to clean up.
“With this past storm with about a six-inch accumulation, by the time we get it all mopped up, we’ve spent about $30,000.”
While Wade talked about snow removal, the main reason he was there was to discuss the shuttle busses. One student asked if it was possible to have more stops along the shuttle route.
According to Wade, in order to increase the amount of stop, there would have to be an additional cost, which would probably be added on to student fees if the shuttle started making different stops.
The members of the committee are open to discuss any questions or ideas that students have. Collinwood added that if students ever have suggestions they are welcome to bring them to a parking committee meeting.
