Flooding Strikes The Ice Arena Again

COURTESY PHOTO

Damages are thought to be high for Plymouth State University, as the struggle to fight the flooding at the ice arena continues. On January 24th, an email was sent out warning students on imminent flooding at the ice arena parking lot causing around 500 vehicles to be displaced.

Chief Temperino, from the Plymouth Police Department, said “ Damages are yet to be determined, but the blue emergency phone down here and some underground electrical are all probably damaged. We are also concerned that the ice removal might damage some of the pavement.”

There currently isn’t a set date that the parking lots will reopen, “It will probably be longer than shorter, we are looking at around five to fourteen days. [Before the parking lots can open] We need to remove the ice, which will require some heavy machinery, but before we can do that we need to wait for all the water to freeze.” While the parking lot is closed there are interim parking lots at the dirt lot next to the armory, another lot along that some road north of the dirt lot, and at Fox Park. Each of these parking lots are fully serviced by the school shuttle system, making 30-minute routes. Plymouth State Junior Joshua Bartsch said, “I thought that moving was going to be really tough to try and find a new place to park, but it actually went really well.”

PSU’s Police Department has worked hard to respond to the flooding in a safe and efficient manner, although Chief Temperino has given the warning saying, “Make plans and think ahead, especially in the winter time. Always try to have a warm jacket and a pair of boots, a lot of people think they are going to be indoors all day, but in case of an emergency be sure to take precautions.”

Chief Temperino did ask this of the campus community, “We do know that the University is struggling with parking. Parking hard on a good day, and now we are about 500 parking spaces short. We realize this is an inconvenience to the faculty, staff, and students, but I’m asking for some patience while we handle this situation.”

With flooding hitting Plymouth State University so hard students are urged to stay safe during winter and to pay attention to all alerts put out by the university police department for any updates on the parking situation or any warnings about inclement weather.