Jan. 15, 2020

UBC cancels evening classes due to snow conditions

Written by Emma Livingstone

Evening classes beginning at 5 p.m. have also been cancelled for January 15 and non-essential services have been curtailed. File Ryan Neale

Update: January, 15, 1:30 p.m. All evening classes starting at 5 p.m. have also been cancelled. Non-essential services have also been curtailed for the remainder of the day.

All classes have been cancelled at UBC Point Grey campus for January 15 due to worsening weather conditions.

The university posted a notification announcing the cancellation on its website around 6 a.m. The cancellation applies to all classes beginning at 8 a.m and throughout the day and evening.

SFU, BCIT and Langara also announced classes would be cancelled for the day. UBC Robson campus remained operating as normal but announced they would be closing early at 5:30 p.m.

Although classes have been cancelled, the campus remains open with essential services such as Campus Security continuing to operate. Other services such as the Birdcoop and ARC fitness centres as well as Enrolment Services have closed for the day.

UBC originally announced that non-essential staff would be expected to come to work unless alternate arrangements have been made with a manager beforehand. But following advisories from TransLink and the BC Ministry of Transportation that asked travellers to stay home if possible, the university later announced that non-essential services would be curtailed for the remainder of the day.

Due to the snow conditions, TransLink has also been experiencing multiple delays on many bus routes. TransLink alerts notified commuters to prepare for extra travel time with expectant weather delays.

In a media release issued today at 6:25 a.m., TransLink warned riders to expect “significantly slower service” from heavy snowfall conditions.

“Our priority is to ensure transit services continue to operate, even if they are operating more slowly or with reduced capacity,” reads the media release.

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver for January 15, with 10 to 15 centimetres of snow expected over the day.

This is an ongoing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Emma Livingstone author

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