Inclement weather often disrupts and delays travel to and around campus. Clearing the snow and ice from the 15 miles of roads, 61 miles of walkways and 114 acres of parking lots on the Cornell campus is a big and difficult job for the Grounds Department. They work diligently to make travel safe for our community during the winter months.

The university assists persons with disabilities that affect mobility who may experience difficulty getting to their worksite or class during inclement weather. Inclement Weather Plans are a method used by the ADA Coordinator for Maintenance Management to inform the Grounds Department of the times and paths of travel of persons with disabilities and to prioritize snow and ice removal in these locations and times to the greatest extent possible.

For more information about Inclement Weather Plans, please direct questions to the appropriate office.

Employees: Please take this survey and submit it to the Office of Workforce Policy and Labor Relations at equalopportunity@cornell.edu

Students: Please complete this form and submit it to Student Disability Services at sds_cu@cornell.edu

Additional suggestions in handling the challenges of inclement weather.

• Understand the university’s flextime policy and have a discussion with your supervisor prior to needing to use it. Identify parameters in which you would like to use your ‘time away from work’ for inclement weather reasons.

• Know who your facility coordinator is and let them know what your access needs are to your building, your path of travel to the bus stop, or walkway to your car during inclement weather.

• Identify a person in your workplace who can assist you if you need help to walk to the bus stop/your car or help you clear your car of snow and/or ice.

• In an emergency when you aren’t able to remove the snow that is around your vehicle, contact the Cornell University Grounds Department at (607) 254-1657 and ask for assistance. Callers may have to wait until a staff person is available.

Faculty, staff and students with disabilities can use the following websites to assist them knowing the weather and any special condition information about closing and cancellation information.

• CUInfo: lists university closings, special events that impact traffic and parking, and links to other resources, such as current weather information.
• IthacaNet: maintains a closing and cancellations page for the Ithaca area.
• SpecialConditions-L: For notification of road closures, construction delays, or other unusual events on campus. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: SpecialConditions-L-request@cornell.edu. The body of the message should read, “join” (without the quotes).
• SchoolClosings-L: If a school is closing, you’ll receive an e-mail with the name of that school in the subject line. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: School-Closing-L-request@cornell.edu. The body of the message should read, “join” (without the quotes).