“But when we’re looking at the distribution of those spaces, we will still have enough space within a 10-minute walking distance from the hospital for those staff to continue to park- they’ll just have to walk a bit further.
“On the flip side, it enables residents to be able to park on the streets closer to the hospital and also people visiting the hospital for less than two hours.
“Vistors and people going to appointments [will have] a better chance of being able to find a park.”
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau said the residential parking permits will give local residents priority, instead of the status quo.
“The local community has been asking us to do something for a number of years - local residents struggle to compete for parking, especially near the hospital.
“The proposal is all about taking pressure off the areas nearest the hospital - and I am glad that the hospital has taken strong initiatives to empower mode shift amongst their staff, encouraging both cycling, walking and public transport to get to work.”
One patient told the Herald the underground carpark at Wellington Regional Hospital was full the last two times she had appointments there.
She spent 20 minutes driving around Newtown before finding a park last week and then walking 10 minutes to her appointment.
Te Whatu Ora Capital, Coast & Hutt Valley Facilities & Business Services acting director Roger Palairet said demand for onsite parking is consistently high with patients, visitors, staff, and contractors all needing access to the hospital.
“This means there are times when the patient and visitor car park beneath the main hospital building is full - however, as there are multiple car parks across the hospital campus, there has been no time in recent weeks where use of patient and visitor parking has reached 100 per cent.
“The busyness of our carparks does mean, however, that patients on occasion have been late to appointments - however these occasions have not been as common over the past year.”
Palairet said parking information is provided online, sent directly to patients in appointment letters, and there is a parking contractor to manage hospital carparks.
The hospital has also implemented a travel action plan to support staff mode shift.
“These, along with more people opting to use more sustainable public or active transport options when appropriate, have helped us improve the parking situation at the hospital,” Palairet said.
“Going forward, we are looking into the feasibility of establishing a multi-level parking building that may have a further positive impact on demand for parking at the hospital.”
The hospital continued to monitor carpark demand, Palairet said.
“However we recognise that it can be frustrating for patients, visitors, and staff who find themselves having to drive around the campus to find a place to park and we empathise with anyone who experiences this.”
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
