As the snow accumulation rose to over five inches Thursday, many had difficulty traveling across campus. Workers from the UW-Madison Physical Plant, who are responsible for campus snow removal, cleared roads and sidewalks in the early morning but fell behind when a second heavy fall hit at 8 a.m.
Physical Plant Director John Harrod said his department fell behind in their total grounds maintenance and focused on primary snow removal areas.
'You can anticipate it, you can get ready for it, but you can only do so much,' Harrod said. 'We'll do general maintenance all day, slow down as people leave campus, and hit it hard again around midnight. That's our general procedure.'
In the event of a snowfall, the UW Hospital, emergency snow routes and loading zones are the primary recipients of snow removal.
The Physical Plant facilitates snow removal, with a staff supplemented by groundskeepers and custodians. Various parking lots on campus are also contracted out to private snowplow businesses because they have specialized plows, according to Harrod.
'It makes sense why the UW might wait to plow until all the snow has fallen,' said UW-Madison senior Justin Brown, a physics major. 'But it is an inconvenience to students when we are still expected to walk from class to class.'
But Harrod said the Physical Plant postponed snow removal in part due to safety issues regarding pedestrian travel.
To prepare Madisonians for snow, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning, which changed to a winter weather advisory in effect until Thursday at midnight.
Reports were issued as much as ten days prior to the snowfall, warning of heavy precipitation, according to Edward Hopkins, instructional specialist in climatic research at UW-Madison.
'It was a good forecast because we were right in position for precipitation,' said Hopkins. 'It was expected sometime Wednesday night, but the exact timing and amount was uncertain.'
Harrod said the Physical Plant was prepared for the snowfall, but not for the volume of snow.
Funding for plows and other Physical Plant operations come from a general operating budget, Harrod said. Various university and state funds contribute, and a portion is taken from student fees. This portion supports many general campus maintenance projects.
