Eastern’s inefficient drainage of rain water from campus grounds is a frustration students will have to endure until further funds are allocated for sidewalk improvements, said Gary Reed, director of physical plant.

“There is some funding remaining to be done,” he said.

With more funds, Reed said he hopes several sidewalks, especially those in the quad areas, can be replaced.

“I know some of the sidewalks are terrible,” Reed said. “We try to earmark for some sidewalk improvements each year.”

Carol Strode, interim director of facilities planning and management, indicated that repairs or replacements to sidewalk sections around campus decrease drainage problems created by excess rain.

“When major sections are replaced the elevation is raised slightly to improve water runoff,” Strode said. “This can be seen in the long section that was done last summer in front of (the) Physical Science (Building).”

She said similar improvements will be made to the sidewalk between McAfee and the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union this summer.

Rain in January and February has a tendency to result in flooding because the ground is frozen during those months and the rain must run off rather than soak in, she said.

The sparse amount of grass on certain parts of campus, inadvertently created by vehicles, along with basic wear and tear, can also create additional nuisances to rain falls, Strode said.

“Service vehicles, vendors, delivery trucks and some contractors needing to access buildings add to the problems of mud and drainage when they create wheel ruts near sidewalks,” she said.

Reed said this has been a never ending battle for grounds workers. He said they put a lot of effort into maintaining the conditions of campus grounds.

“We do the best we can to keep vehicles on sidewalks and off the turf,” Reed said. “We try to avoid mud issues as much as we can.”

Strode said grounds workers attempt to combat mud issues by planting new grass on sections of campus every year.

“(Workers) concentrate on areas where there is a wear pattern,” Strode said. “Some areas are more seeded more often than others like in areas in the north quad where taking shortcuts across the grass creates the wear patterns that result in large areas of mud when it rains.”