As the temperature begins to drop, WSU Facilities Operations Grounds Department will be assisting students and faculty by clearing pathways during the upcoming winter season.

Eric Slocum supervises the WSU heavy equipment group, which is one of the three sections that will be operating during the winter.
“Last year we had a pretty big winter compared to the years prior,” Slocum said. “We went through a stretch [for] about eight to nine years where we haven’t had much of a winter.”

The heavy equipment group is responsible for the streets, parking lots and transportation services. The other two sections are the ground group, who is in charge of the sidewalks and the custodians, who supervise of the entries to buildings. One of the issues that the department encountered last year is the snow berms in the crosswalks.

Slocum said clearing snow berms could be difficult to do, so it is important to contact the department for any accessibility issues.

“We’re only here to try and make things safe and get people where they need to be,” Slocum said.