BRENTWOOD, Mo. – Families are flooding to a new park in Brentwood, where a parking lot can’t handle the demand.

The new Brentwood Park has it all—32 acres of adventure—from a giant climbing net tower to zip lines, water jets, and winding streams.

However, getting there may be the bigger adventure.

The parking lot was full even on a Monday morning at 10 a.m., with people lined up for spaces to open. Moms like Robin Bruns had to make the walk with her twins after parking on a nearby residential street.

“We saw all these cars and I was thinking, ‘What in the world is going on?’” Bruns said.

The park is even drawing people from other counties.

“I thought today would not be busy, but it’s packed,” one mom, Julia Nezam, said.

Next-door residents say they can barely get in and out of their own homes.

“I’ve had to call Brentwood police officers multiple times because people are blocking my driveway,” Bridget Sigillito said. “People were parking in the grass yesterday, behind my house.”

Sigillito spotted Bentwood’s mayor and communications manager, who were on site. She confronted them about her concerns and showed them her challenge.

“They definitely did not plan for parking at all,” she said.

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Mayor David Dimmitt says everything about the park was intricately planned.

“Keep in mind, this was a light industrial area just some four to five years ago,” he said.

Mayor Dimmitt added, “In order to address the flooding from Deer Creek, we acquired all those parcels and turned it back to green space, so it would be able to hold the flood waters…When you talk about parking spots, remember that every parking spot that you put in, that’s less green space, so we didn’t want to overpark it.”

Brentwood’s solutions include parking options, like at the ballfields on Russell Boulevard. A crosswalk will soon go across Brentwood Boulevard, leading to the park.

Another option is Brentwood’s Community Center, which is quite a walk, more than a half mile away. You’ll find more options if you plan ahead, because the park is part of the 128-mile Great Rivers Greenway.

North of the park, you’ll find a tunnel that cuts under Manchester Road. The tunnel leads to more neighborhood parking options—all the way up to the YMCA.

Beware of business parking lots, where you could be towed.

Brentwood says it will continue looking for answers to parking challenges, hopefully giving answers that will match the soaring success of the park itself.

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