Jefferson City police may soon share enforcement powers of parking regulations with Lincoln University on the streets bordering campus, an idea that stemmed from trying to solve existing parking issues on Chestnut Street.
At the Public Safety Committee meeting Tuesday, LU Police Chief Bill Nelson said the university president, Kevin Rome, has been "frankly pretty frustrated with the parking on Chestnut Street since he arrived."
Though no parking is allowed on parts of Chestnut Street near the Scruggs University Center, cars are often parked there.
The city has difficulty enforcing regulations along the street with the largely student population; the city can only issue a summons to go to municipal court. It has little recourse if a student does not reside in Jefferson City year-round and refuses to go through the procedures. If Lincoln University took over enforcement, penalties could more easily be imposed on students who do not pay tickets.
In discussing the issue with Rome, Nelson said they realized the problem extends beyond Chestnut Street, with faculty, students and staff sometimes parking on streets adjacent to the campus to get around purchasing a permit to park on campus.
Nelson said the university would like the city to institute time limits for parking on the east side of Lafayette Street and the south side of Dunklin, as well as enter into an agreement allowing LU police to enforce parking regulations on Chestnut Street, the east side of Lafayette Street, the south side of Dunklin Street and the west side of Locust Street.
The idea for shared enforcement stemmed out of the university's original request that the city vacate Chestnut Street, which would allow the university to close the street to cars and create a pedestrian plaza. That request has stalled several times at the City Council, with the most recent attempt now turning to a resolution seeking to allow temporary closures of the street from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. That resolution is likely to be discussed at the Dec. 8 council meeting.
Though the draft ordinance would give LU police the ability to issue municipal tickets or go through LU administrative policies, Nelson said they likely would use the school's administrative policies as LU students, faculty and staff are most likely to be parking in the area.
Jefferson City Police Chief Roger Schroeder said he has discussed sharing enforcement with LU and thought it would be a win-win for all involved.
"That was our solution," Schroeder said.
The committee ultimately approved moving a bill forward to allow shared enforcement of Chestnut and the streets adjacent to the campus, with 4th Ward Councilman Carlos Graham abstaining as he is employed by Lincoln University. City staff noted the request to institute time limits on Lafayette and Dunklin streets would have to go through the city's Transportation and Traffic Commission.