Statement on campus snow clearance efforts

Following is a statement from John Harrod, director of Physical Plant, about the university’s snow removal efforts.

“We in the UW–Madison Physical Plant take the removal of snow and ice very seriously.

“The storm on Saturday evening was especially difficult because of the freezing rain that followed and severely hampered our ability to remove the snow and get down to bare concrete. Subsequent snows in recent days complicated our efforts.

“You should know that we are working our hardest to make the situation better.

“We must realize that this is Wisconsin, and it is probably unrealistic to think that all of our areas can be kept clear and dry. You can be assured that we will not rest until the campus is as clear and safe as possible.

“The question is one of resources versus nature. It clearly is our goal to make the campus as clear and safe as is possible with our resources and we hope you can bear with us.

“You may not realize that the UW Physical Plant maintains 50 miles of sidewalks, more than 90 parking lots for more than 11,000 cars, 12 miles of streets plus countless steps, curb cuts and terraces, etc.

“We have supplemented our grounds staff with other employees from Campus Services and our waste and recycle departments, as well as having lots plowed by employees from our power plant and garage and Fleet Services.

“All of our grounds employees came in early Sunday morning and worked for about 12 hours. They then came in for a normal day on Monday and then left and came in at 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning to work another 13 hours. (We find it most effective to clear sidewalks and parking lots late at night when lots are essentially empty and sidewalks are free of pedestrians.)

“During the past several years, just as other department staffs were cut, our grounds staff faced similar cuts.

“During every snowfall, each of our 28 grounds staff members, including the supervisors, operate a piece of snow-clearing equipment.

“Of course, it would also be unrealistic to perform large operations such as clearing this campus without the complications of breakdowns of essential equipment and temporary loss of some key people for illness or injury.

“If you have any specific areas, especially those that are important for disabled access or that have been neglected, please let me know so that we can give them more attention.

“We hope that people take whatever measures are needed to minimize their own risk of falling. Some suggestions include wearing sensible rubber-soled shoes rather than leather-soled and commercially available traction-control devices.

“Thank you for your patience as we continue our efforts to clear the campus of snow and ice.”