Snow Piling Up In Park-N-Ride Lots Leaves Commuters Frustrated

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - It's one the snowiest starts to February in years, and crews clearing it say things are starting to pile up in parking lots. Typically, a mountain of snow is welcomed in Colorado, but not when its taking your parking space.

"It's insane, and this is the one lot that so many people rely on," one driver said about the RTD Park-n-Ride lot at the Englewood light rail station.

It's a different kind of struggle for drivers who try their best to avoid a messy commute on the roads by taking public transportation.

"Part of the reason I go to work so early is to guarantee a spot this lot. The main lot is full before 7 in the morning," Kaitlin Mccormick said of the downtown Littleton Park-n-Ride lot.

When there's nowhere left to push the snow, officials tell CBS4 sometimes it stays where it lays, even in consistently full lots.

"It can get really slick especially in the early mornings when things are still really frozen," Mccormick said.

For commuters, it can mean the already-packed parking lots are even more squeezed for space.

"If they don't have it cleared you're seeing it, that's three spots, and I have no idea where they park."

While it is an inconvenience, it's one that most Coloradans have learned you simply have to work with in winter.

"I just think they don't have anywhere to put it, period."

A spokesperson with RTD says their plow plan is to fill up surrounding landscape areas and retention ponds prior to using parking spaces, but she says piling it in parking spaces does happen.

The goal in those instances is to get it moved again, once there is even the slightest melt.

If you do have concerns about an RTD parking lot, you can call their customer care line at 303-299-6000.