Parking fines on the rise
By Kelly Christopherson , 9/7/05

“It’s an urban problem in a rural setting.” That’s how Jim Joy, Director of Parking and Transportation Services, describes the parking situation on campus.

With enrollment up 2.2 percent this year, finding a parking place has become more difficult. According to Joy, that’s when illegal parking is at its worst and why parking fines are going up.

“About four or five years ago, the Residential Housing Association asked for help in deterring people from parking where they shouldn’t,” Joy said.

 That’s when Joy approached MU administration, seeking a way to help the students parking with permits battle those parking without a permit. The Chancellor approved the fine increase this past summer. Now, a student parking in a lot they don’t have a permit for will cost them $25, up $15 from previous years. Parking in a handicap spot will double in price as well, from $50 to $100.  

The parking problem isn’t just illegal parking. It’s also about capacity. 

“Over 800 students park in Trowbridge overnight. That makes it difficult for commuters to find a spot in the morning. We still have the capacity. It’s not the most convenient, but it works,” Joy says.

With Reactor Field parking lot open, pressure should be released on Trowbridge and Hearnes. Some students don’t want to park that far away, even with the bus routes.

“The bus routes don’t let kids with agriculture classes get to class on time from there,” Gary Reichel, a junior animal science major, said.

Other students want parking permit locations determined by students’ majors.

“I think that business and engineering students should be assigned permits that are specifically to Reactor Field, not Trowbridge and Hearnes,” Jason Ewing, a junior animal science major, said. “Leave Trowbridge to the commuters with classes on the east side of campus.”

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