Every year the parking situation seems to be the same: too many cars and not enough spots. We know that from last year’s parking lot story “Why Is There No Parking?” that the Police Department on campus, which is in charge of issuing the parking passes, issue more spots than we have available. The reason stated was because not everyone who is a student at Arapahoe Community College visits campus at the same time.

Unfortunately, most of those students arrive during the morning traffic hours and the result is a parking lot that is overflowing with cars. What many students don’t know is that ACC has twelve parking lots to choose from. Granted, most of these lots are not as close as people would like them to be, but it is still a place to park your car.

So let’s start with the most obvious choice of parking: Lot A, the crème de la crème of parking lots. Lot A is a literal stone’s throw away from the main entrance, located just across College Drive. The average walk will be around 0.02 miles to the front door, a mere 106 feet away. Using my fitbit, I walked and recorded how far it is from each parking lot to the main building.

Lot A is typically the first lot to fill up. So the second best option would be Lot B. Located just east of A, B is the second largest parking lot on campus and the furthest spot in lot B rests about 0.11 miles away from the front door; that’s 580 feet away.

Lot C would be next to check if the precious lots fill up, which they do consistently. Lot C rests pretty far away from the main campus at a nice walk of about 0.17 miles. It’s still a nice little walk into school, considering you don’t have to cross any main streets. It may seem like a “schlep” but those spots are pretty much guaranteed if both A and B are full.

Working our way down the list is Lot D. D is not as popular as its predecessors due to the fact it’s tucked away behind the Annex building. But nevertheless it’s as nice as the other spots, though a bit small. Most people know Lot D by its location which is “the parking lot behind the tennis courts.”

Parking lots E and F often times get confused as one lot, but don’t be fooled; they’re different. These two lots are pretty small and can be identified as the lots just west of the main campus. Most of the time, they take the overflow cars from Lot A during busy traffic times. Lots E and F are only a measly .07 miles away from the main entrance–that’s roughly 370 feet.

If you follow Sumner Street past Lot F you’ll come to another small parking lot. That’s lot G, which is roughly the size of E and F combined. When parking in that lot you’ll want to prepare for a bit of a walk. The stretch from lot G to the main entrance is 0.16 miles long.

Lots H and I are the second furthest from campus students can park. From those lots to the front door is a staggering 0.27 miles. Most people can identify those lots from the sight of the South building and the looming presence of a cemetery overlooking those spots.

Now onto the furthest spots, those in Lot J. J would be the first choice for students visiting the Art and Design building. Having it only be .02 miles away from AAD makes for a nice walk in. Unfortunately, if your destination is the main campus, then you’re looking at a .30 mile trek. Lot J is one of the smaller parking lots on campus and usually fills up quickly from the students visiting Art and Design.

Lastly that leaves Lots K and L. Normally those would be excellent spots to park, but according to Stephanie Neal, a Technician at the Church Street building, “Those lots are very small and reserved for the teachers and faculty that work in the Church Street building.”

For those who prefer not to drive at all, one might consider the use of public transportation. The Regional Transportation District (RTD) buses and light-rail serve as a reliable mode of transport for many students and faculty. Nate Bertz, an Admissions Admin at ACC, travels by both bus and light rail in the mornings. “It usually takes me 25 minutes to get to campus, which isn’t much different from driving, which takes me about 20.” As Nate says, “I’ve never had to wait more than 5 or 10 minutes for a bus or train.

So whether you’re driving or taking RTD, your parking options are not as limited as you might think.