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Parking along east campus streets may soon be limited to residents only.

KBIA

East Campus residents met with Supervising Traffic Engineer Richard Stone on Wednesday evening to discuss parking issues along their streets, specifically MU students and faculty taking all the spots in front of their homes.

East Campus Neighborhood Association President Janet Hammen said she’s been troubled by commuters for years.

“Well I lived on Wilson Avenue for many years and I could not park in front of my house, could not have company park in front of my house,” Hammen said.

The problem streets are just east of College Avenue. University Avenue sees the most commuter traffic, but the smaller surrounding streets have their share of congestion too.

East Campus is a short walk away from the University of Missouri. It’s closer than the commuter lots- such as the one at Hearnes Center- and students and staff can leave their cars for hours without paying a dime.

Stone said that may change next summer. Columbia is considering several options, including issuing parking permits for residents only.

Another option is putting parking meters throughout East Campus. The city says meters would cut down on traffic and generate revenue for enforcing parking ordinances.

Though residents aren’t happy about the students, they’re not entirely in favor of the meters either.

East Campus resident Margaret Hultsch said she thinks meters won’t address the neighborhood’s biggest problems.

“Parking meters won’t help our problem of safety and excess traffic… and that is a big, big thing that I’m concerned and upset about,” Hultsch said.

No students were present at the meeting.

Stone says the City has asked for students to participate in this discussion, but so far none have responded.