Oct. 13, 2014
Kyle Guthrie
[email protected]
Driving on campus can be something of a bumpy ride. Commuters have to navigate through a conglomeration of traffic, construction, maintenance crews and the occasional pothole.
When running late for a class, issues such as these can cause commuter nightmares when traveling on campus.
As UCCS expands its influence in the community, the growing on-campus roads still require constant care and maintenance.
Jim Spice, executive director of parking and transportation, helps keep the roads and intersections safely maintained for students.
“We just repaired the pothole by the old garage as you come into the school,” Spice said. “We actually just repaired it this week.”
Spice also explained that campus roads are a shared responsibility of several branches of the administration. “
While parking lots are my responsibility, the roadways are the facilities responsibility,” Spice explained. “General fund dollars are going to be used for road ways, and the general fund is state money.”
General funds are state supplied funds that go toward the university facilities, and since the roadways are the responsibility of the facilities, these are the funds that go towards their repair.
A separate fund must be generated for parking lot maintenance. Parking is primarily funded from auxiliary funds, such as parking permits and visitor passes.
When potholes, cracks or deficiencies are noticed on the campus roads, facilities is responsible for turning in the work orders to have them repaired. Once the work order is received, parking and transportation services work to repair the problem.
Spice also stressed the importance of complaints and work orders being turned in to the proper authorities. If people have concerns about non-parking areas, they should notify facilities about maintenance concerns.
“If they see problems in the parking lot though, be sure to call parking,” he said. The facilities department also conducts weekly sweeps to locate and repair burned out lights. Parking lot stripes are also repainted once a year to ensure visibility.
Because of the fact that students drive the roads and parking lots more often, the facilities and road crews often rely on submitted work orders to address.