Quiz Prepares Employees For Winter Weather

Even though there may be no snow or ice in sight, Duke's faculty and staff still tested their knowledge this month to learn about Duke's winter's snow and ice removal plan.

About 200 faculty and staff took a Working@Duke quiz about Facilities Management's winter plan, which asked participants questions about where to find emergency information (emergency.duke.edu) and how long it would take to remove about 3 inches of precipitation (four to six hours after the precipitation ends). A Duke Today story explaining the plan was among the most popular on the site in the past 10 days, receiving nearly 1,600 page views.

From the employees who took the quiz, Christine Vucinich, technical education and outreach coordinator with the Office of Information Technology, was randomly selected to receive a Duke-branded ice scrapper as a prize.

"Because I work at the American Tobacco Campus, it's good to know what resources are out there, especially since you never know what the weather is going to be like, and I may have to travel to campus," Vucinich said. "It's definitely important to have an idea of what's going on if we get snow this time of year."

Vucinich said she didn't have a hard time with most of the questions but refererred to the snow and ice plan map to remind herself how Duke breaks down sections of campus into precincts during a winter weather event.

"I reviewed the article and map and the quiz gave me guidance if I missed an answer," she said. "I'm excited to keep the scraper in my car, just in case I need it."

This year's snow and ice removal plan features some enhancements to account for new additions to campus, like areas surrounding the new wing of the Keohane residence hall and the Duke Medical Pavilion and Cancer Center. Facilities also added plans in case a winter storm coincides with a Duke men's or women's basketball game, making fan parking lots, driving routes and a sidewalk from Circuit Drive priorities for snow or ice removal.

The map and quiz are still available online for review at Duke Today and the DukeALERT site.

Here are the questions from the quiz. Correct answers are in bold.

1. To provide the most efficient snow and ice removal, Duke's campus is broken up into how many precincts:

a. 4b. 8c. 15

2. There are 47 total miles of sidewalks on Duke's campus, 16 miles of which have been identified for priority clearing. How are these walkways identified on the map?

a. Thin red or blue dotted lineb. Bold red or blue solid linec. Bold red or blue dashed line

3. All sidewalks, parking lots and entrances are a priority to clear.

a. Trueb. False

4. Where can you find the map with the priorities for clearing of roads, parking lots, and walkways?

a. Duke maps website (map.duke.edu)b. Parking & Transportation website (parking.duke.edu)c. DukeALERT website (emergency.duke.edu)

5. How long is it projected to clear a movable snow (no ice/sleet) of 3 inches from the priority roads, parking lots and walkways on campus?

a. Less than 2 hours after precipitation endsb. 2-3 hour after precipitation endsc. 4-6 hours after precipitation ends

6. How many walkways between priority parking lots/bus stops and buildings will be cleared as part of the snow and ice management plan?

a. A single walkway to two building entrances will be cleared between priority lots/bus stops and buildings.b. Two walkways will be cleared between priority lots/bus stops and buildings.c. Every walkway and building entrance will be cleared between priority lots/bus stops and buildings.

7. How will Facilities clear snow or ice on campus during a basketball game?

a. Only Iron Duke lots are clearedb. All fan parking areas are made prioritiesc. The snow and ice plan remains the same