For the past couple of days, snow has torn through Western New York, adding to an already exceptional snow total this winter. Unluckily coinciding with the historical snow totals is the decommission of the Canisius parking ramp, the disappearance of which has infamously caused a noticeable lack of parking throughout campus. These problems have only been accentuated by the high snowfall totals.
At the temporary lot at Lyons Hall, the impact of the snow is especially felt. The lot, which is already very narrow, is made even narrower by snow piles from the clearing of the lot. Those snow piles take up space in the parking spots on both sides of the lot. One student said, “Cars are being parked further out because of the snow, so it’s harder to drive through when you’re trying to get to the faculty lot, and vice versa.”
Still, the majority of the snow that is removed from the parking lot is successfully moved in such a way that it does not decrease the size of parking spaces, but even this causes problems. A commuter student said, “The massive piles of snow can take up several parking spaces and leave even fewer spaces to park.” The student continued, “A lot of times I am late to class because I can’t find parking or have to park further away at the Spillman lot.”
But that, too, provides no guarantee for parking. Another commuter student said, “Usually there are tons of spots at Spillman, but even there, snow piles take up lots of space. I could hardly find parking the last time I parked there, which is a first.” In an already limited parking situation, this only expands upon the trouble. It is an unsolvable problem so long as parking remains limited, but a problem nonetheless.
The snow has not only impacted commuters, but also those living in the houses around campus. While commuters struggle with parking because of snow removal, those in the houses near campus are hurt by the lack of it. One of the people in the houses off-campus told of how they “waited and waited around for the [snow]plow to come by, only to realize it wasn’t coming. I ended up calling my dad to bring his plow truck to our house to help us out because there was no way we could clear everything ourselves.” That has been a problem all throughout Buffalo. What’s more, even when the streets surrounding Canisius gets plowed, they create a problem similar to the one in the temporary Lyons lot: “With the snow lining both sides of the road, and having cars parked on both sides, it makes driving through almost impossible.”
Efforts are being made to quell these problems. In an email Thursday morning, the Office of the President said that there will be efforts “to conduct some additional snow removal efforts … to clear away some of the large snow and ice piles that have caused further limitations on parking.”
Additionally, the email reiterated a message from the city of Buffalo, saying that cars parked on the streets illegally will be towed more often than they have been before, in order to make way for snowplows. Regardless, this week’s new storm is just another headache in what has already been a very snowy winter.