When a snowstorm hits central Ohio, 30 full-time Ohio State staff on the Columbus campus work around the clock to clear 40 miles of roadway and 140 miles of sidewalk, said Jeff Barr, Facilities Operations and Development’s assistant director of Landscape Services.
“Usually, it will take somewhere between six and eight hours to clear the sidewalks and roadways one time,” he said. “We do prioritize some areas over other areas. First and foremost is the Wexner Medical Center, with the patients, visitors, faculty and staff that come in and out of the hospitals. That is a very high priority for us.”
The next priority is clearing roadways and areas near residence halls and dining facilities, Barr said. Disability access is also a priority. Ohio State’s Columbus campus has cancelled classes just 19 times since 1978, as the threshold for a class cancellation on a college campus is far higher than that of K-12.
“There are so many different groups that come together, as well as some of our off-campus partners,” he said during a recent episode of the City of Ohio State podcast. “We all come together, we discuss what the available information is, what is the intel that we have, and then we present a joint recommendation that is carried forward by the provost. Ultimately, the provost and president are going to make that decision based on the information that we have.”
A variety of factors are involved in the decision to cancel in-person classes, Armstrong said.