Roomy Reactor lot sees little use

While two MU commuter lots are filling up, a new lot at Reactor Field that cost $1.2 million isn’t getting much use.

On Monday morning, about 55 cars occupied the 980-space lot near the Research Reactor Center on Providence Road south of Memorial Stadium.

“I like this new parking lot because nobody parks here,” said Nick Meibeyer, a junior journalism major.

Meanwhile, commuter lots on the east side of the Hearnes Center and near the Trowbridge Livestock Center on Ashland Road are filling up. At the Trowbridge lot, cars are parallel parked in tow-away zones along the perimeter, and there are no signs or attendants to inform drivers when no spaces are left.

“You just have to drive around to figure it out,” said Leslie Wooddell, a sophomore who parked in the Hearnes lot after first discovering Trowbridge was full. “I park at Trowbridge just because if the buses don’t show up, you can walk. I’ve sat for 20 to 25 minutes. This one is way too far to walk, in my opinion.”

Jim Joy, director of MU Parking and Transportation Services, said it will take time for students to grow accustomed to parking in the new Reactor Field lot.

“It’ll be a learning curve,” he said. “There’s nothing magical about getting people down there.”

Of the more than 9,700 students who applied for parking permits this semester, more than 4,200 were assigned commuter permits because of limited space in on-campus lots. The Hearnes Center lot holds more than 1,500 cars, and the Trowbridge lot holds more than 1,300 cars.

All students holding commuter parking passes are allowed to park in any of the three lots,

At Hearnes on Monday, the buses were arriving every 15 minutes. However, 25 students were waiting at the bus stop, and they said that they often have to wait for several full buses to pass before they are able to find space on one.

“The parking is fine, if they ran the buses a lot more often,” said Mike Farrell, a senior studying atmospheric science. “I’ve missed it three times in a row today. Every one is packed. I will be late for class today. I haven’t been before, but I’ve been cutting it pretty close.”

During the high-traffic hours in the morning, eight buses run to the commuter lots. The number goes down to four in the afternoon. Joy said two more buses will be put into service on the Reactor Field route next week.

“Once that happens, that will be a great help,” he said.