The University will engage in regular operations for the entire day Monday, despite a city parking ban declared by Mayor Jorge Elorza effective at 2 a.m., wrote Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, executive vice president for planning and policy, in a campus-wide email Sunday.
“As a residential academic community Brown will close or delay operations only in unusual circumstances,” Carey wrote in an email to The Herald.
Elorza announced that all public schools in Providence will be closed Monday. Johnson and Wales, Providence College, Rhode Island College and all six campuses of the Community College of Rhode Island canceled classes Monday, while the University of Rhode Island canceled classes before 4 p.m.
Carey encouraged community members to seek transportation that does not require parking, such as Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority buses and ride-sharing. Those who do not have parking passes for University lots can park in an overflow lot near the Brown Stadium, and a shuttle service will transport them between the lot and the Brown Office Building from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
“The cost of operating the shuttle for that lot is minimal,” Carey wrote in his email to The Herald.
Since the storm is forecast to begin early Monday morning, “the timing of the storm will make it challenging for grounds and custodial staff to clear and maintain parking lots, sidewalks and building entrances across the campus simultaneously,” Carey wrote in the campus-wide email.
“All of the staff who participate in managing and responding to winter weather do an amazing job,” Carey wrote in his email to The Herald. “I hope all members of the community will join in thanking them for their service.”
The University has worked closely with the city to encourage the plowing of public streets around the main and Jewelry District campuses, and the Thayer Street District Management Authority “hired contractors this weekend to improve conditions along Thayer Street,” Carey wrote in the campus-wide email.
Monday’s storm will make commuting “generally more challenging than it already is in the wake of last week’s blizzard,” which dropped about 18 inches of snow on campus last week and led to the cancelation of classes and University operations Tuesday.
Whereas last week’s Winter Storm Juno occurred in sub-freezing temperatures, the forecasted temperatures Monday top out at above freezing, resulting in hail and a wintry mix of precipitation, according to the National Weather Service.
If the University’s decision to continue operations throughout the storm changes, an announcement will be posted on the University’s website and emergency webpage.
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