w e l l ~ B L O G ~ t o ~ y o u ~ t o o !

26 December 2002
 
So I wrote a letter:

To Whom It May Concern:

Perhaps you had been unaware of the compound problems that are faced an employee who has to park in the Manley Field House lots. Generally, such an employee has not worked at the University long enough, nor has a title high enough to warrant a permit in a lot on the main campus. "All faculty and staff "home lot" parking permits are allocated on the basis of rank and years of service with the University." (As taken from the parking services website). Generally, such an arrangement is a minor irritant at worst. However, there come times when several events happen all at once to make such parking, and therefore getting to work, a nightmare.

An example of such would be this morning, the morning of December 26, 2002. While the reduced hours over the Holidays are greatly appreciated, due to the reduced bus schedule that is implemented when the student are not on campus, there are few busses that run during the hours when an employee would be arriving to and departing from work. Were it in the summer, this would still not be an unbearable problem. However, in the winter, in Central New York, in the middle of the Lake Effect belt, there is generally snow on the ground. Therefore, an employee has to either come in early or stay later regardless of the reduced hours to ride a bus, or the employee has to walk through the snow.

I realize the University can only be responsible for the sidewalks that they own. But it should be brought to the attention of the University that there are several private homes on Comstock Avenue, as well as the Cemetery that employees would have to walk past in order to get to the main campus. The nearest point on Campus to the northernmost tip of Manley North is at least a half mile. As stated before, during the summer, spring and fall, walking is not a problem. However in winter, when the busses do not run at the same times employees are going to and leaving from work, the University is condemning the employees to walking through snow or on the street (which is not safe) and the chill to get to work.

On the morning of December 26, 2002, all these problems were compounded by the fact that the parking lot at Manley Field House was not plowed. Snow removal after the storm that happened on December 25, 2002, is often tedious work. However, at 9am, during the reduced hours, plowing the lot had not even begun. Nowhere in evidence were the plows and tractors that are often seen much earlier on other days when snow had fallen the day before. The severe lack of plowing made it nearly impossible to first get in the borders of the lot, and then to traverse the lot and actually park your car in the lot as opposed to the main driveways used by the busses. Most vehicles are not designed to propel themselves through a foot of snow.

It is not so much to expect that since we have to pay for the ability to park at least a half mile from our place of employment, that such a lot, uncomplicated by the presence of student vehicles, be plowed and salted in a timely manner as are the lots on the Main Campus.

In the future, please try to take into consideration the fact that not only students park at Manley Field House, and there are many employees who work the full-year schedule as opposed to the academic-year schedule who have to park there as well. After making several phone calls, I was informed that the physical plant was belatedly getting to work on the Manley lot. For some reason, it seems as though one shouldn't have to make phone calls and write e-mails in order to be able to park and get to work in a timely fashion.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Elizabeth L. Dunn, on behalf of myself and other SU employees who have to park at Manley Field House




~Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind~
-Hamlet, Act 3, scene 1

Elizabeth L. Dunn

Liz the Mischievous renovated @ 10:52