During winter weather, students’ accessibility on campus can be seriously hindered. Credit: Sebastian Petrou Griffith | Lantern Reporter
The first few weeks of spring semester have been accompanied by snowfall and ice, leaving many campus-goers at risk to accidentally hurt themselves when traveling outdoors.
Until it thaws completely, students’ overall accessibility can be seriously undermined.
Buckeyes for Accessibility is Ohio State’s “oldest and largest disability student-run organization,” according to its university webpage. Code Beschler — a fourth-year in anthropology and the group’s treasurer — said as a wheelchair user, unclear streets and obstructed entrances heavily impact his day-to-day life.
“Getting into a building is one part of my accessibility,” Beschler said. “It’s also trying to warm up after being outside in the snow, and now I’m tired because I had to lug myself through the snow.”
Ohio State employs specific crews of people with expertise in on-campus accessibility and safety, said L. Scott Lissner, the university’s Americans With Disabilities Act coordinator.
University spokesperson Dan Hedman said Facilities Operations and Development must clear primary sidewalks and streets, CampusParc is responsible for maintaining its parking zones and Buildings and Grounds crews upkeep campus sidewalks that connect to building entrances.
“The safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors is always our top priority,” Hedman said.
Lissner said he works closely with the aforementioned groups to address winter weather concerns. Overall, Lissner said he feels the university does a satisfactory job of keeping campus accessible in the winter.
“In the last two snows, I’ve only had three issues get raised,” Lissner said.
These issues included piled-up snow that blocked an access aisle to one of the buildings, ice at the bottom of a ramp and ice on a connecting path from an outdoor parking lot to a city sidewalk. On average, these issues were resolved within 30 minutes to an hour and a half, Lissner said.
“For a campus with over 1,000 buildings, and an awful lot of sidewalk and street, that’s not a bad record,” Lissner said.
Lissner said though he feels confident in his department’s work, these specific examples are not a wholly comprehensive representation of accessibility on campus. Lissner said if people don’t report incidents of hindered accessibility, the university cannot fix them.
Lissner said he is working to create a quicker reporting system, which would be accessible through the official Ohio State app. The ultimate goal is to instate a one-click report button for accessibility issues.
Some additional options for wintertime accessibility are the university’s paratransit service and CABS on Demand, Lissner said.
“You could certainly pre-schedule getting to your classes, pre-schedule things on your structured schedule within the paratransit system,” Lissner said.
With specific regard to CABS, Lissner said there is a stronger on-demand element, and it might take upward of 20 minutes for transportation to arrive.
Lissner also said there are some noteworthy limitations associated with Ohio State’s paratransit services, including the fact “paratransit serves within roughly two miles of campus.”
In light of this potential roadblock for students seeking access to places located further from campus, Lissner said the COTA bus system is a viable option.
Student Life and Disabilities Services can also work directly with students to schedule classes in more favorable and/or accessible on-campus buildings.
Despite these options for those who need transportation accommodations during the winter, Beschler said some students still struggle with accessibility issues.
“The snow is probably the biggest thing, just not having a lot of access to clear sidewalks is very difficult for people using mobility aids,” Beschler said.
Beschler said though physical barriers to accessibility will always crop up due to weather conditions, he feels the Ohio State community always makes an effort to accommodate him.
“The individual people do a very good job of accommodating me,” Beschler said, “Accessibility relies heavily on the professors you have and the connections you have within your community.”
August Tucker, a second-year in earth science and co-president of Buckeyes for Accessibility, said he agrees with Beschler that winter weather is one of the biggest accessibility issues on campus.
“If the sidewalks aren’t fully cleared or salted, and there’s compacted snow that turns into ice, it becomes dangerous for me,” Tucker said.
Tucker, who uses a cane, said slick and unsafe conditions can quickly create threatening situations.
“The easiest thing you can do is be understanding, especially if you’re sharing the sidewalk with someone,” Tucker said.
Beschler said at the beginning of the semester — when new paratransit drivers are being trained — securing proper transportation can be especially difficult.
“One of my paratransit drivers dropped me off across the parking lot from where the accessible entrance was,” Beschler said, noting he believes the driver simply did not know the designated drop-off location for the accessible entrance.
More information about Buckeyes for Accessibility can be found on its Instagram page. Students wishing to call in an issue regarding accessibility on campus can call the ADA Coordinator’s Office at (614) 292-6207.
