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PrintCOLUMBIA — Some veterans can now park for free in downtown Columbia.
The City Council passed an ordinance Monday that will allow veterans with Missouri plates featuring Silver Star, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War, Congressional Medal of Honor or Bronze Star recognition to park for free at all city-owned and city-operated parking spaces.
At the council's request, staff contacted MU officials to see if they will allow veterans with the special plates to park for free in campus parking spaces. They confirmed MU will not participate.
Veterans can apply for these license plates through the Missouri Department of Revenue by filling out an application and turning in a statement to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a previous Missourian article.
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Comments
I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of war veterans do not have any of these medals. If the City really intends for this program to benefit all war vets, they should issue hang tags directly to eligible veterans who apply. Or is this a poor use of verbiage in the headline? (I haven't seen the ordinance)
There is a very small group of Soldiers who receive those awards. Hang tags would be a better option unless they are afraid there could be a flood of passes given out and the vets will fill up all the parking spots.