The elevator at Crestone in Alpine Village is shutting down sporadically and causing problems for students and the Facilities Services Department.
Students have been getting trapped in the elevator on occasion and have had to find alternative ways to get to and from their dorm rooms.
The Department of Public Safety has been responding to these incidents, and Facilities Services has had three technicians and a field adjuster come out to look at the elevator.
Jeff Reed, executive director of Facilities Services, said that the elevator is experiencing what is referred to as DTC, or door time fault.
“So, what’s happening is the doors are being held open past the time that the program within the elevator computer control wants it to be. So basically, if it’s held open on multiple attempts for at least a minute, the elevator will go into fault, and it will shut down,” said Reed.
Reed and Facilities Services believe that people are holding the door for longer than they should be, causing DTC. Reed said that students should have no trouble with the elevator if they do not hold the door open for too long.
“So, every elevator, no matter whether it’s on this campus or at the mall, has these safety devices. If you’re at a hotel, you’ll hear the bell. Same thing here, it gives you that little warning that ‘hey, you’re holding me open too long,’” said Reed.
Students can talk to Housing or Facilities Services if they are experiencing trouble getting around without the elevator or if something else is posing accessibilitity issues.
Ida Dilwood, director of Disability Services, says that Disability Services is also available to help students with accessibility concerns.“They can definitely ask us for an accommodation for long term,” she said.
Students can get in touch with Disability Services by emailing [email protected] or get in touch with Facilities Services by calling 719-255-3313.
Elevator located in the Crestone Apartment in Alpine Village. Photo by Lexi Petri.