College of the Canyons lost over 700 parking spaces on the Valencia campus Monday, as the school starts construction on a new parking structure.

Parking Lot 7, at the corner of Valencia Boulevard and Rockwell Canyon Road, will be transformed into the new structure in an effort to improve long-term parking struggles, according to officials.

“There is a fence around the lot as contractors start to bring in equipment,” said Eric Harnish, public information officer. “Construction is expected to begin later this week.”

The college currently has approximately 5,000 parking spaces on the Valencia campus, and the new project will add 1,659 new spaces.

During construction, the campus is set to lose over 700 spaces, said officials.

To address the parking shortage, College of the Canyons will offer students new parking spaces, parking alternatives, and free parking.

“We have developed several strategies to ensure that students still find the campus to be convenient and accessible during construction,” said Michael Wilding, assistant superintendent and vice president of student services at the college.

To encourage students to take afternoon classes, the college will offer discount codes for Lyft and Uber rides to and from the Valencia campus starting the first week of the semester, and parking in all student lots on both the Valencia and Canyon Country campuses will not require a parking permit or pass after 2 p.m.

Free parking will also be available in a satellite lot near the campus where students and staff using Uber and Lyft codes can ride to the campus for free.

“With the addition of new staff spaces, we will convert some of the Lot 14 staff spaces to student use,” said Wilding. “We have identified more room for student spaces in Lots 13 and 14, so be aware of new traffic patterns in that area.”

For more parking information, visit the parking website here.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and sign up for KHTS email and text alerts today!