Whether driving or taking public transit, icy road conditions can be detrimental to vehicles navigating the snowy, winding mountain terrain. Students’ safety must be prioritized when it snows. This means cancelling classes before students arrive on campus, preparing alternative class structures, and ensuring that snow ploughing, salting, and shovelling are done effectively and efficiently.
While we did land a few snow days in the second week of the term, this is an exception for SFU. Unexpected weather conditions the week before sent many panicked students rushing to get off of campus. As I snailed down the already snow-covered hills in my little FIAT 500, I could feel how slippery the pavement had already become. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, I braced myself for the moment I would lose control of the car on a patch of black ice.
The three people driving their cars a few hundred metres in front of me were not so lucky. It appeared as though each driver lost control of their vehicles and slid into each other in a bumper-car like collision. From the looks of it, everyone seemed to be OK and the drivers were trying to figure out how to detangle their vehicles without doing more damage. As a driver, I was highly anxious and felt extremely unsafe in my vehicle, and was kicking myself for coming to school in the first place. Luckily for me, I was able to get down safely.
The couple of lucky snow days we got came too late. We go to school on a mountain — it should be quite obvious that extra care needs to be taken in order to ensure that students, faculty, and staff are safe getting on and off campus. The campus is much higher than other locations in Burnaby, meaning traces of ice and snow which might have melted away in other areas may still be evident on campus. Not only does this pose a risk for drivers, but also for people walking to and from different buildings, getting back to their dorm, or catching a bus.
Transit may be considered an alternative to driving in difficult conditions, however, transit services are not immune to the dangers of winter weather, either. Having both students and teaching assistants bus up the campus for a 50-minute tutorial that could easily be held over Zoom does not sound essential to me, especially with students concerned about black ice.
SFU Facility Services is responsible for “managing snow and ice from the intersection of Gaglardi Way and Burnaby Mountain Parkway throughout the Burnaby campus” whereas the City of Burnaby maintains “the roads leading up to the campus” and “UniverCity.” However, there is no guarantee that this process will be adequate or efficient in our unpredictable climate.
Waiting until 6:00 a.m. on the day of is not the correct time to tell students whether they will have a snow day. It needs to happen at least the night before. Heavy snowfall can lead to delayed bus and skytrain services, overcrowding on platforms, and reduced space in buses and train cars. For SFU students, this could mean needlessly waking up earlier for a long commute or running late for classes that may end up getting cancelled anyways.
In the past, taking a “snow day” has been viewed as a last-resort for institutions. We need to realize that in many cases sending students of any age to school in the snow can do more harm than good. Keeping people at home on a snow day will not only keep them safe, but reduce risk of accidents and the build-up of traffic on the roads.
