Freeloaders 'abusing' Tauranga Hospital car parks causing patient distress

Some patients reportedly miss appointments because they cannot find a park. Photo / Jean Bell

Parking is an issue close to everyone's heart, especially as Tauranga's roads and parking lots get ever more full. But for our sick and elderly people visiting Tauranga Hospital, this becomes more than an inconvenience. Bay of Plenty Times health reporter Jean Bell looks into the issue of car park freeloaders at the hospital.

Tauranga Hospital staff and members of the public abusing the free car parks at the hospital are causing headaches for sick patients and their families.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board facilities and business operations general manager Jeff Hodson said the "abuse" occurred in both of the hospital's public car parks, which were off Cameron Rd and Clarke St.

Hodson said there was evidence to suggest that the issue frustrated patients to the point that some gave up finding a park and went home, missing their hospital appointment altogether.

He said many patients and visitors were elderly and not being able to find a car park was a big spanner in the works.

"The current situation is creating distress for patients and visitors alike," Hodson said.

"It's very unfair to be making it difficult to park easily at what is already a challenging and distressing time."

Hodson said there was evidence that some people were using the free hospital car parks as a cheap parking option when working in the CBD, while some staff were also using them to park closer to their place of work instead of using the dedicated car park provided to employees.

It was difficult to give specific details about how often the unauthorised parking occurred and for how long since it was freely accessible, he said.

Hodson said the hospital urged people to stop using the spaces as a cheap means of parking.

He said the hospital was looking at installing barrier arms to possibly impose time restrictions on free parking and a small charge for longer periods.

This would encourage staff to use the dedicated staff park too, he said.

A Clarke St resident, who did not want to be named, said he had lived in the area for 42 years and the parking availability had declined considerably in that time.

He said cars would often be parked all day in a 60-minute car park right outside of the Cancer Centre where patients frequently came and went.

"It's unfair. These people are sick so you want to make it easy as possible for them."

The Kollective general manager Gordy Lockhart said tight car park availability was an issue throughout Tauranga, not just in the area.

He said there might be a perception that parking was easier to find on 17th Ave than other areas but this was no longer the case.

He said The Kollective owned an e-scooter, an e-bike and an e-car available for members to use in hopes of encouraging members to take alternative transport.

He said there would always be people who needed cars, such as families or people transporting goods, but individuals needed to change their behaviour to decrease the amount of single-occupancy vehicle uses.

"Building more parks will just push the problem down the road."

Tauranga City Council was contacted but could not provide a comment before deadline.