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Storage is a little bit different than other businesses when it comes to snow removal. This is especially true when it is a smaller facility like Wildcat Storage Center. While we're often at full capacity, we still only have 3-4 patrons every day visit their unit. Some days we have none - especially on snow days. This is very different than your local apartment complex, office building, or retail outlet where many people are coming and going every day. As such, it can require a different approach to snow removal. Some storage facilities don't do any snow/ice removal at all. This is even more frequent when the parking lot is not paved as it is much more difficult to remove snow from a rock lot.

Our current approach for snow remove (which is always subject to change) is to review the weather situation. For example, we typically don't remove snow until the storm is over. Even if there is a lull in the snow, until we believe the total snow even is complete we do not address the snow and ice. If we were a grocery store, this approach would not work at all, but for storage, it seems to be a good balance. Secondly, we typically don't treat for snow and ice when it will be gone within 36 hours due to nature. We're cognizant of the amount of salt we're putting into the waterways. As such, if the weather forecast for the next couple of days is sufficiently sunny and warm - and the snowfall amount was small, we'll let nature take its course and do the work for us. Similarly, if there was more snow but it is going to be warm and sunny, we might remove the snow but not apply salt since the sun and heat will take care of the rest once the black asphalt is exposed. We've also stopped salting the entire driveway, spot treating instead. This is similar how road crews work - focusing their sand and salt operations at intersections. Because traffic inside the facility should be operating at very slow speeds, the salt is primarily to help with pedestrian traffic. For this reason, we've stopped salting the entire driveway (which required approximately 240lbs of salt each event). Instead, we salt near the doorways and on utilized walkways. That reduces our salt usage to about 120lbs instead. This is better for the environment, and still helps people walk more easily and access their units. We still ask that all renters use care. There is always the potential for some black ice, especially resulting from melting on the rooftop (where it is sunny) creating some spots of ice on the ground (where it is shady).

While we know every facility treats snow an ice a little differently, we thought existing renters and prospective renters might benefit from understanding how we approach snow and ice in an effort to keep everyone safe, minimize environmental impact, and provide a quality customer experience.