There's sNOw way to get to campus

Every Nipissing student should recognize this picture. It’s the upper gate of the Monastery Trail that we all know and love. It looks a little different in this picture though (thank you Google Maps) because it is one of the few months in North Bay when there is no snow. Believe it or not, this trail plays a huge role in our lives, and holds a special place in our hearts. Unfortunately we only have access to this trail for about 3 of the 8 months we’re here (Sept-April).

As we drift in to the depths of a North Bay winter so does the Monastery Trail. Oh, and by “Trail” I mean the section of walkway from one orange gate to the other. Understandably the Monastery Road does receive adequate snow removal so students can get from Main campus to the Monastery. But that’s not the issue at hand. The issue is that: the TRAIL section does not receive any snow removal during the winter months, none.

As you can see above, I've outlined the residences (blue=Nipissing, red=Canadore), the gates (orange=upper and lower gates), and the section of the trail that doesn’t receive snow removal (white=waist high snow). The unplowed region is roughly 500-600m which is just enough to freeze your toes and ruin your day on campus. To see a picture of my toes from the walk today please click here.

You're probably wondering right now “why does it matter if we can’t walk to school, there are busses every 15 minutes?” The reality is that the busses only come every 3 days, and that I should be able to walk to campus. I’m not really sure why Nipissing was built on top of a hill, or why residences were built on the bottom, but I do know that somewhere in between we need snow removal.

Whether you’re walking to your 8:30AM class, or walking home from the bar at 2:30AM, we should all have access to a safe, walkable (not a real word) trail. With the snowplows nowhere in sight, I managed to purchase my own snow-shoes which allow me to walk to campus with ease. So right now, the problem is solved for me, please stay tuned for my Monastery Trail “Bear Sighting” blog post coming soon!

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