By SHANNON O. WELLS

The mix of heavy snowfall and subsequent long deep freeze in recent weeks created significant challenges for both city of Pittsburgh and University snow-removal crews, and Laura Zullo, vice chancellor of facilities management, gives Pitt employees who cleared sidewalks and streets of snow and ice high marks for their herculean efforts.

“I’m proud of the crew. We enlisted not just our grounds crew, but our labor shop, our custodial staff,” she said on Feb. 3. while addressing the Campus Utilization Planning and Safety (CUPS) committee. “It was all hands-on deck to get it done. And we’re still working. There’s still more to be done.”

In Zullo’s rundown of the snow-removal challenges following the winter storm that walloped Pittsburgh and much of the U.S. starting Jan. 24, she acknowledged that Facilities Management crews went above and beyond their strict University boundaries around Oakland.

The crews used what she called a “phased approach” to snow removal, with a first pass to clear an initial path to Pitt properties, followed by additional passes to widen pathways and stairs to building entrances and exits. There was a focus on clearing crosswalks and curb cuts leading to campus buildings.

“A lot of our city sidewalks that we don’t typically address, we did address a lot of those just to make sure we had safe pathways for our students,” she said, adding that her department appreciated the tips shared about impassable sidewalks in the wake of the snowstorm. “We don’t always see everything, and we did address things as they came in.”

 “The team is tired,” she acknowledged. “I went and visited them yesterday, and they were all a little beat up. But they show up, and they do the work.”

Penny Morel, CUPS Senate Council liaison and professor in the Department of Immunology, expressed appreciation on behalf of a friend who works at the off-campus Bridgeside Point building for the crews’ industriousness on clearing Technology Drive before city workers could address it.

“I know there are Pitt buildings on that street, but (crews) went beyond the strict confines of the campus” to provide service. “He did make the comment that that was a great thing. So, congratulations.”

CUPS Chair David Salcido, an assistant professor of emergency medicine, said while he doesn’t speak for the University, he “can’t imagine that it wouldn’t build a nice amount of goodwill, picking up the slack here and there, because we know the city’s limitations and we do intersect with other people’s sidewalks. So, much appreciated.”

Regarding the potential for duplication of efforts, Kathy Kelly, associate dean for academic outreach and advising in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, asked if various snow-removal entities “could all be on the same page. … It seems that perhaps it could have a better result and outcome. Again, I get the extreme conditions with this one, but just in general, even you could just (explain) what the city is responsible for versus the University.”

Zullo said she was aware that various Pitt officials were in contact with the Pittsburgh mayor’s office as well as the Oakland Business Improvement District. “We had some communications with them. We helped them out with some salt. They ran out. We were working with other entities within the city to work it through.”

Drawing from experience

Ted Fritz, vice chancellor for public safety and emergency management, explained that despite many sidewalks being clear, snow accumulated at intersections, making pedestrian navigation challenging.

“The next time around, we have to really pay attention and focus on that, to make sure that with the crossings that somebody does go to cross, that they can get to the other side … so that people don’t have to walk out into the street just to find a place where they can get to a cleared crosswalk or a cleared sidewalk,” he said. “I think it has a little bit to do with we haven’t seen that much snow before. That snow wasn’t melting or going anywhere.”

He added that sending out additional crews and plow operators isn’t as effective as it may sound. “It was a new event that they had to take on and figure out how they were going to … not only plow it, but … where do you put it? All (of it), I think, was a big problem. They determined to hire private contractors to come in and haul it out, which was good,” he noted.

“Hopefully the next time around, those extra resources are readily available at the outset as well.”

Fritz clarified that Pitt’s Office of Government Relations talked to the mayor’s office about “getting permission” to clear snow in some areas of Oakland.

“It sounds kind of silly, but they’re not our streets. Do they have a problem with us doing that? Of course, you could imagine that everybody wants the snow gone,” he said. “Everybody understands the safety issues. But there’s also legal issues that have come up (and potentially) union labor issues that come up … all sorts of things that start to enter into the picture about whether we can or we can’t.”

To Kathy Kelly’s point about planning, Fritz agreed that pre-weather event discussions would be beneficial. “(The city) did say, ‘Hey, when there’s a snow emergency, you’re welcome to help us out.’ So that was good to hear.”

Regarding weather and bus transportation, Ben Gordon, associate professor in the Dietrich School’s Department of Religious Studies, said those riding buses in recent days have noticed that it “can be very tricky, particularly getting off buses when the bus stops in front of a pile of snow. And I’m experiencing this commuting to and from campus.”

He said he wondered if Facilities Management has in any way prioritized clearing areas where riders get onto and off buses at heavily trafficked stops around Oakland.

Zullo affirmed that Facilities Management does that in certain areas. “If there are specific ones that are still a problem, I’d like to hear that, and we’ll take care of them,” she said. “We address some on Fifth as well as on Forbes. I know the Barco (Law School Building stop) was an issue. We took care of that one right away, as soon as we heard about that. But if there are others that we haven’t cleared, please let me know.”

Traffic incidents

Salcido relayed to Fritz that one late afternoon when roads were treacherous, he saw a car “essentially try to run somebody over. It was a very active, sort of attempt to run over what I think might have been a student,” he said. “I don’t know what was going on with this driver, but it was sort of emblematic of frustration translating into really, really dangerous driving.

“I know it’s got to be difficult for the Pitt Police to even get out in those conditions,” he added.

Fritz responded that Pitt Police always encourage reporting crimes or potential crimes. “If you think a crime is occurring, or if you think someone is driving recklessly, then certainly you should call that in. And if they can look into that right away, they will try and do that.”

Salcido said the incident was “so frustrating to watch. And I know that tensions were high. This was at rush hour, people are leaving Oakland, but I’ve never seen anything like it. It happened so quickly that I figured, ‘It looks like everybody’s OK. I’m just gonna let that go.’”

In other campus safety-related news, Salcido asked Fritz about an incident the night of Feb. 2, when a 21-year-old pedestrian was struck by a Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) bus and injured at Fifth Avenue and Neville Street.

The Tribune-Review reported that the woman — who was not named and not thought to be affiliated with Pitt — was transported to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in critical-but-stable condition. She apparently was “up and walking” the following day and expected to be released, a PRT spokesperson said.

After looking at video footage of the incident, Fritz said while the incident “did not have anything to do with snow, it’s pretty tragic how easily that happened. I will say that. But it involved a PRT bus and a pedestrian in the crosswalk.”

Fritz concurred with Salcido that “one of the things he first thought about” regarding the incident was that snow-clogged sidewalks played a role but clarified that it did not.

Rec center and student housing

When Salcido asked for topics for the CUPS committee’s March meeting, suggestions included an update on Recreation and Wellness Center usage as well as student housing, specifically the plan to convert the William Pitt Student Union to residential units.

Regarding the latter, Gina Bleck, vice chancellor for planning, design and construction, said the “exciting news” on student housing is that “we’re in the midst of selection process for first-year housing for the Honors College” on the RA lot between Bellefield and Fifth avenues in an L-shaped parcel surrounding the Music Building and Music Annex. “That’s the first thing coming out for housing from the Campus Master Plan,” she said.

The transition of the William Pitt Union requires the full renovation and “fit out” of the former Pittsburgh Athletic Association to a student center along with the upper floors so the former hotel “can be put to higher and better use as a residence hall. That is distant, after prioritization and funding approval. So I see that as years out, unfortunately,” she noted.

Thanking committee members for taking part in a “brief, but productive” meeting, Salcido said “I hope you’re safe out there in the remainder of the snow.

“I’m sure there’ll be more. There’s always more.”

Shannon Wells is a University Times reporter. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.

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