By Braeden Pelton
For all incoming freshmen and any students who haven’t had a class on the Grand Rapids Community College campus yet, learning where and how to park in the area can be confusing. Luckily there are a few options for students to pick between.
To start, there are the parking ramps A and B on the main campus. Parking ramps A (Bostwick) and B (Lyon) are both open 24/7 for the public (excluding major holidays). Although the usual parking rate for these ramps goes from $2 to $12, GRCC students paying with their RaiderCards get to pay $3.50 a day. This means you only need to pay the fee once and you can go in and out all day. You can load money onto your RaiderCard by accessing the Student Link app in your GRCC Portal.
There is a special parking service available for any qualifying veterans. Approved students with veteran status will be able to enter and exit both lots for free but only when being used for school business. You cannot use this more than seven times each week. To see if you qualify for this, please visit the Veteran Parking Page on the GRCC website.
Motorcyclists can only park in parking ramp A, but both ramps have bicycle storage available.
If you decide to park at one of these ramps and need to go to the GRCC DeVos campus, there is a free shuttle bus service available. The shuttle service is provided by The Rapid and picks up students at the bus stop on Fountain Street between College Avenue and Prospect Avenue, and is available during open school hours. Shuttle stops are at the back of the Grand Rapids Public Library, the front of Spectrum Theater, and the front of Sneden Hall on DeVos Campus.
An additional third ramp is open for students at Central Reformed Church off of College and Fulton. GRCC has leased 25 spaces at the church for students to pay a semesterly fee of $125 to use. Please note that this deal is only cheaper for full time students. The shuttle service transports students from the Sneden Hall shuttle through its route.
Street parking is available surrounding the main campus buildings as well. For the meters surrounding the school the rate is $1.50 an hour and is enforced Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please remember to pay for the spot with adequate time as they are checked frequently. Meter rates are not enforced on select holidays, to see the list of holidays and other information on street parking please visit the City of Grand Rapids Parking website.
A digital map is available to assist in finding parking spots and navigating the campus as you get adjusted. For any questions about parking rates please visit the Rate Information Page on GRCC’s website. If you have any other additional questions see the Parking and Transportation website for GRCC.
