By Sydney Stalnecker
Despite the slightly warmer temperatures, the mounds of snow packed along the edges of the parking lots on Youngstown State University’s campus refuse to budge.
As a result, the Grounds department has closed six parking lots to remove the snow and will close four more lots at midnight tonight.
Lot closures will take place Wednesday, Thursday and Friday starting at midnight each day.
Danny O’Connell, director of Support Services, said the lots will reopen when all the snow is removed.
Other on-campus lots will be available for alternate parking. All alternative lots provided will be open for overnight parking, even if they are not usually designated as such, while these lots are cleared of snow.
The parking decks and some parking lots, such as the M-81 lot by the stadium, are some of the spaces listed as alternate parking options.
“We’ve got plenty of parking in both parking garages,” O’Connell said. “We’re not looking for anyone to go off-campus.”
In previous winters, YSU has not closed parking lots to clear snow.
“The overnight parking lots, normally we just let them go, but we haven’t had a snow like this … since the early ’90s,” O’Connell said. “Because it hasn’t warmed up, there’s still so much snow between the cars and plowed down that we just can’t get to.”
Despite the anticipated winter storm, O’Connell said Grounds is going to continue with the closure of parking lots.
“On the days the storm hits, we’ll keep them closed until we can get to them,” O’Connell said. “I would say those lots are going to be closed no longer than 24 hours, if everything works well for us.”
Once the cars are removed from the lots, Grounds will place the snow in grassy areas near the parking lots.
“Most of the parking lots have places to the edge that — if we could get to — we could push it there,” O’Connell said. “The lot on Rayen [Avenue] has a lot of grass to the west and a couple spots to the south, and we’ll pile it up — try to keep all the lanes open — we’ll push to the edges and we’ll actually scoop it and pile it up on the grass.”
O’Connell said the snow removal was spurred by calls received from students who said they were having trouble getting in and out of the parking lots.
Lot Closures:
Wednesday, Feb. 2:
Lot 63 on Lincoln Avenue
Lot 90 on Elm Street
Lot 23 in upper Courtyard and all spaces on Wick Oval in front of the Courtyards.
Alternate parking:
M-60 parking deck, located on the corner of Lincoln and Fifth avenues
Lot 81 by Stambaugh Stadium
M-30 parking deck on Wick Avenue
Lot 24 by the Courtyards
Thursday, Feb. 3:
Lot 61 on Rayen Avenue
Lot 92 by Lyden house
Lot 24 by the Courtyards
Alternate parking:
Lot 63, the Wick and Lincoln parking decks
Lot 81
Lot 32
Friday, Feb.4
Lot 91 on Madison Avenue
Lots 3 and 4 on Bryson Street
Lot 32 by Bliss Hall and the Courtyards
Alternate parking:
Lot 81
Lot 2 on the East Bound Service Road
Lot 24 by the Courtyards
