Lighting near Mizzou Arena to be improved
The new lights will illuminate the arena parking lot and nearby road.
Published Nov. 30, 2004
With all the talk about the renaming of Mizzou Arena, questions have come up about the safety of some of the streets leading to the arena.
Specifically in question is Champions Drive, which runs south of the football stadium from Providence Road and goes up a steep incline right in front of Mizzou Arena. There are no lights along the road, and since many basketball games are played at night, some worry about using the road to walk to the arena.
Athletic department spokesman Chad Moller said the department was looking into purchasing two lights for the parking lot near Mizzou Arena. Moller said the two lights would illuminate the parking lot and some of the light would spill over onto Champions Drive.
He also said he had not received an update on the two lights, but installation is supposed to be completed by Wednesday.
MU Police Chief Jack Watring said the two lights are all that is in the works for Champions Drive.
"As far as I know, there are no plans to install lighting along Champions Drive itself," Watring said. "We would be supportive of any plans like that, though."
Greg Chase, Missouri Students Association Senate clerk, said he conducted a safety walk in September in which he identified places on campus that are not sufficiently lit. He said after doing a light test in the area around what is now Mizzou Arena, he found locations where he could not get a light reading at all.
"I would say (lighting near the arena) is sufficient," Chase said. "However there are always improvements to be made."
Chase could not comment on Champions Drive specifically. He said he is set to conduct another safety test in the near future.
For general campus safety improvements, Chase said MU could always get more of what he calls tower lights. They are small, bright lights set on top of towers in many of the parking lots around campus.
Chase said he also was working on installing security cameras around campus. He said there are plans to install security cameras near Mizzou Arena.
The Department of Homeland Security would provide funding for the cameras, which would record 24 hours a day.
Cameras already have been installed in the Trowbridge parking lot near the Agriculture Building.
Blue light emergency phones are another item used to promote safety on campus.
Watring said the closest emergency phone is located at the bus stop east of the arena on Champions Drive.
He said MUPD would support adding more emergency phones near Mizzou Arena.
"We're always in support of those," Watring said. "I've met with MSA a couple of times. That might be a place they're looking at to install another one."
