University of Missouri updates campus master plan; could remove street parking on Sixth Street, Hitt Street

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi announced updates to the university's master plan during Thursday's Board of Curators meeting .

The campus master plan is a decades old, ever-changing list of current and potential campus renovations that aim to improve research and education for faculty and students.

MU spokesman Christian Basi said the master plan helps organize future ideas.

"We go in and say, 'Here are the upcoming projects we would like to do. Or, here's how we would like the campus to look in the next five-to-10-to-20 years," Basi said.

Renovations that are set to take place in the coming five years include general renovations of the Center for energy innovation, MU Research Reactor expansion, Memorial Stadium improvements, an expansion to the veterinary medical center, decommissioning Pickard Hall and more.

Some potential projects include adding more cross walks and bike lanes to Sixth Street and removing street parking from that road. The plan also proposes removing street parking spots on Hitt Street near the MU Student Center, and converting the parking lot behind the Student Center into a food truck court.

While these plans are in a stage of infancy, subject to change with no distinct budget in place yet, some students are wary of the new renovations reducing on-campus parking.

Recent MU graduate Sara Espindola feels that the negative outcomes will outweigh the positives.

"I don't know why they would do that. I think recreational areas are, obviously, very good, but I feel like you're just making a problem way worse," Espindola said.

Basi believes that parking on campus already working well and the loss of a few parking sections will not harm the overall driving experience.

"It does mean that some folks might find that they have to walk just a little bit farther," Basi said. "But overall, the amount of parking on campus is in pretty good shape, especially when you compare us to other universities where they don't have parking at all on campus and people have to either be bused in or park long distances and walk quite a ways away."

While these potential changes may sound daunting, they are still in the development stage with many years to go before being rolled out and the Board of Curators remains open to feedback.

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