Iowa State Campus Services encourages students and faculty to report potential hazards on the Facilities Planning and Management website or by phone, as much work goes into maintaining campus through wear and tear on sidewalks, signs, parking lots and more.

The workers behind the routine maintenance, emergency repairs and graffiti removal are those at the Facilities Planning and Management department. Part of this work involves ensuring that students and faculty have a direct line of communication with this department.

“We really like it when people call those in; we don’t get offended,” said Todd Wilson, supervisor of Plant Services. “The students and staff are our eyes and ears out there…so we really appreciate it when any member of the Iowa State community turns in a dangerous sidewalk report.”

In addition to their website, Wilson encouraged students to call the service desk at 515-294-5100 between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The work order they create for the caller will then be sent directly to Wilson and his team almost instantaneously.

Every year, the department must report how many miles fall under the responsibility of campus. This includes, according to 2023 data, 52.6 miles of sidewalks alone. Paved roads, surface parking and ramps are also entrusted to the work of the department.

Outside companies hired by Facilities Planning and Management will go through campus and measure every crack in every sidewalk panel after mapping out the whole campus.

Joe Cutler is the area manager for one of the outside companies, Precision Concrete Cutting. Cutler and Wilson have worked together for nearly two decades to ensure that needed repairs are properly taken care of so that students and faculty remain safe.

There are different ways of fixing sidewalk hazards, which the Americans with Disabilities Act qualifies as “more than a quarter-inch in vertical height between sections of the sidewalk.”

These repairs can include grinding down the concrete, leveling or a complete replacement. Supervisors like Wilson make decisions about which method is the most cost-effective while ensuring the hazard is resolved.

There has been a decrease in repairs due to budgeting concerns in the last few years, but the university is “making more dollars available” in the near future. Previously, parts of campus would be cordoned off so the department could go through and meticulously update every potential issue.

That had to change a few years ago as the funding decreased and less could be done.

“We’re trying to do as much as we’ve always done with a lot less budget, unfortunately,” Wilson said.