Getting 60,000 fans into Kenan Stadium for the school’s first-ever Thursday home football game presents a host of challenges for the University.
And while administrators have been preparing since last spring for the game, many UNC employees still aren’t comfortable with how things will be run.
Reducing traffic Thursday afternoon will require getting employees and some hospital patients off campus sooner.
“It’s just one more nail in the coffin,” said Alan Moran, a facilities services employee and Employee Forum delegate, about the plan’s effect on employee morale.
Administrators hope to avoid congestion by ending the workday at 3 p.m. Employees are required to make up for the two lost hours or use leave time to cover them.
“We encourage managers and supervisors to allow employees to have a flexible schedule — taking a shorter lunch, coming in early or leaving later — if that fits in the employee’s schedule,” said Kathy Bryant, human resources communications director.
An e-mail detailing other options for making up lost time was sent two months in advance, Bryant said. But some employees still aren’t satisfied with the University’s efforts.
“There are a number of individuals affected by this on campus and they find they haven’t been given full due consideration,” Moran said.
The University wants to get employees off campus to reduce congestion as spectators arrive.
“The transition is the major issue,” said Athletic Director Dick Baddour. “How do we get people off campus and people on campus? How do we get people here?”
Employees feel Thursday’s game causes an unfair inconvenience.
“A lot of people at the forum spoke vociferously about this,” Moran said. “Employees were kind of overlooked. This has added to some of the morale issues that we can have in a down economy.”
Chancellor Holden Thorp spoke during one of the Forum’s meetings to address these issues. Delegates for the forum and many employees remain unhappy with the decisions made by administrators.
“One of the phrases I’ve heard is, ‘We figured out that we’re an institution of athletes that participate in education so that we can participate in the ACC,’” Moran said.
Increased traffic also poses a problem for employees and patients at UNC Hospitals, but it planned ahead to deal with Thursday night’s challenges, said Dalton Sawyer, director of emergency preparedness and continuity planning.
Patient discharge, lab appointments and clinic hours have been scheduled around times expected to have a high volume of traffic. The hospital also has alternate routes in place to give vehicles expedited access to the hospital, Sawyer said.
“It’s the same as what we practice every year for Halloween when there are a large amount of people converging on Chapel Hill,” he said.
Hospital administrators were more than willing to work around the game schedule, he said.
“The athletic department has supported us on other ventures and this is an event we really support for the benefit of Chapel Hill,” Sawyer said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
