[Though not directly part of this petition, it is relevant information you should be aware of.] 

Have you been to ACC's new shelter at Bryant and Alameda yet? If not, good luck finding parking. Despite the shelter's exorbitant price tag, there are only ten — count 'em — ten parking spaces (all uncovered).

Not that all the spaces are available to all members of the public. Two spaces are reserved for vehicles with disabled person placards. Two are reserved for recharging all-electric vehicles, of which one of those is reserved for staff. Of the remaining six spaces, some are used by ACC officer vans and possibly other staff members! The other side of the building also has two hidden indoor "emergency vehicle" bays for officer vans.

On an average day the lot is usually full, and you'd be lucky to find a space — even though the shelter is rarely busy. The lot, which doubles as the public entrance area, is also cramped, making it difficult to turn around, especially when you can't find a space. Nevertheless, visitors lucky enough to get an appointment are advised to park in this mini-parking lot.

There is street parking (with the usual restrictions), also usually packed. However, carrying an animal in a carrier from an offsite car to the shelter entrance can be a lot to ask.

Since the shelter is actually a remodeled power station that apparently did not require a lot of parking spaces, no accommodation has been made for this absurd limitation in the design of the animal shelter, which may be one reason why visitors must now get appointments. ACC is giving public accommodation its lowest priority.

The only clue to this situation on ACC's website is their advice to potential volunteers hoping to attend an orientation: "Parking can sometimes be difficult – please give yourself extra time to find parking." Talk about an understatement!

There are some simple, obvious, low-cost steps ACC could take to improve the parking situation — other than the easiest way out: keeping visitors away. Why isn't ACC management taking those steps?