By Jenna Giakoumis
Nearly a year ago in December there were a series of potholes and cracks along the pavement in the service road between Blodgett Hall and Levermore Hall. While driving back home after a long day of classes, Andrea Giganti, a senior nursing student, suddenly found herself hitting a pothole that she said was roughly the size of a small vehicle. “I almost got a flat tire from the pothole I was trying to maneuver from and failed,” she said.
Potholes continue to be a nuisance on campus. Student motorists have not been the only ones affected.
“When it rains it gets pretty annoying because the potholes become puddles that destroy my shoes if I’m not paying attention,” said Skylar Dorr, a senior communications student. “I’ve already lost a pair of Uggs to the Adelphi pothole puddles.”
In the days leading up to Spring Break in March, several potholes formed near the South Avenue entrance to the University Center, the largest of which was about the size of a trash can and went several inches deep. Pedestrians and cars were forced to maneuver around these obstacles for days and Public Safety marked them with orange safety cones. During the break, Facilities Management repaired more than 25 locations on the northern part of campus. Just two months later, one of the repairs caved in, resulting in yet another pothole roughly the size of a small backpack.
An Ongoing Battle
Robert Shipley, the assistant vice president for Facilities Management, noted the recurring nature of this issue on campus. “Potholes are an ongoing battle with Mother Nature as pavement ages,” he said. “Parking Field 2 by the University Center and Parking Field 5 on the south end of campus are currently showing the most signs of failing pavement.”
This largely reflects the consensus of a student survey consisting of 34 anonymous participants. However, respondents also noted room for improvement near the dorm halls (especially Chapman Hall and Residence Halls A and B) as well as Woodruff Hall.
The university attempted to address the issue this past summer. “We did one large repair over the summer on the fire lane north of Chapman Hall,” said Shipley. “I hope to continue with more work next summer.”
Despite these efforts, 58.80% of the participants in the student survey still consider potholes to be a persistent problem on campus.
This might partly be explained by the fact that without active coordination between students and Facilities Management, the university lacks an accurate estimate of the number of potholes on campus. This, in turn, makes it take longer to find and address existing potholes, which gives them time to grow further in size and cause damage to vehicles and ruin shoes.
Students and faculty can report potholes by submitting a work order in Footprints on
eCampus or through the AU2GO app. However, 76.50% of the survey respondents didn’t know that reporting on the app was an option. Only 5.90% have ever used the platform to make reports for repairs.
Pothole Formation and Repairs
Where do these persistent issues come from anyway?
“Potholes form due to the freeze-thaw cycles during the winter season,” said Shipley. “The age of the asphalt plays a large role in this, as older pavement is more porous and allows more water to seep below the surface. As water freezes below the surface, it expands and pushes the pavement apart.”
He added that the process of maintaining pavements has three steps. First, Adelphi’s Facilities Management crew removed loose debris. Then, the crew filled the hole with a blacktop patch and next ensured the patch was flush with the existing pavement.
The process is also dependent on the weather. “To make pothole repairs, we must have a few dry days and temperatures above freezing,” said Shipley, adding, “the warmer, the better.”
The draining of water is also a concern, especially after the torrential rains on August 19 across Long Island.
Shipley said, “The campus typically drains off very well. The central Nassau County area also did not see the massive rainfall that Suffolk did during that storm.” He added, “I'm just glad I don't run Stony Brook. They lost two dorms to that flooding.”
For budget, Shipley said that Facilities Management’s funding for deferred maintenance relied on Adelphi University's annual capital budget.
“A percentage of those funds are allocated for parking lot and sidewalk repairs,” he said. The exact allotted amount varies from year to year, depending on that year’s approved funding.
Shipley said that a pothole repair takes an estimated five business days from the report date. However, this contrasts with the survey conducted. Many students stated that repairs can take a few weeks to months, and often these potholes reform with the freeze-thaw cycle.
In terms of Facilities Management’s repair initiative, Shipley said, “Facilities Management and the Department of Public Safety and Transportation regularly inspect our campus grounds to identify issues that need repair.”
Raymond Capers, a sergeant for Adelphi’s Public Safety and Transportation, agreed. “We try to get a hold on those potholes when we become aware of them and also our Public Safety officers report them to us immediately. We request that they be fixed by our Facilities Department and they are very quick to respond to those requests and quickly correct the condition.”
Shuttle Safety
With many populated locations on campus having failed pavement, this can affect the shuttle service. Adelphi offers a handful of shuttle services on campus that drive the community to transit hubs or retail stores throughout the week. Besides students and faculty on Adelphi’s roads, the local Garden City community is also open to the Alice Brown Early Learning Center.
“Potholes on campus could affect public transportation,” said Capers. “We have buses that transport students and faculty from various transit hubs… A bus hitting a pothole could cause considerable discomfort to someone on the bus and also possibly cause damage to the bus.”
Pamela Manon, a junior nursing student, is a commuter. She said, “A big thing about being on a shuttle is because all the drivers are used to all the potholes, it can catch you off guard. A lot of the time, they just kind of run through them.”
Public safety is also another concern. “There was one time when I literally jumped in the air out of my seat,” said Manon. “Kind of crazy and a little dangerous.”
“I would say that potholes could affect anyone, at any place and at any time,” said Capers. “They are the most annoying sites, let alone hitting a pothole in your vehicle can cause damage to your car and they also have effects on your tires causing flat tires.”
Damage and discomfort, however, are not the only concern. Swerving is a common trend. “I’ve seen people and been with people who go as far as swerving to the opposite side of the parking lots where the oncoming cars go just to avoid the inconvenience of driving over one,” said Dorr.
This correlates to the data collected from the survey: 58.80% of students found that potholes affect their ability to properly navigate across campus.
“I find that it’s an inconvenience, and especially embarrassing whenever I have an Uber pick me up and having to direct them down the route that will jostle us the least,” said Dorr. Manon agreed. “It makes the school a little less presentable,” she said.
The Solution
Initial reporting took place in the spring, the height of pothole season. “Since we don't get the temperature changes and freeze-thaw in the summer, potholes are usually not a problem," said Shipley. However as winter approaches next month, the cycle will most likely begin again.
Through the data collected from the survey and student anecdotes, there are those in the Adelphi community who believe that there is a persistent pothole problem on campus. The university has two solutions. One is for students and faculty to be more proactive and report pothole sightings and failed pavement across campus. The second is for Adelphi’s Facilities Management to advertise the AU2GO app for reports and build better trust and reputation throughout the community with fast repairs.
Regardless of persistent potholes, many students reported feeling safe. “It’s not extremely life-threatening, just an inconvenience, so I guess I feel pretty safe in regard to my life,” said Dorr. “However, it is not so safe for cars and any nice shoes you may be wearing.”
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