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Hospital parking quagmire worsens

Posted on July 7, 2009, 7:07am and updated on July 8, 2009 at 8:01 am

Mount Gambier residents are continuing to show frustration over the lack of carparking spaces at the city’s hospital, following reports of cars becoming bogged there last week.

Drivers are being forced to park on muddy grass or squeeze into non-carparking areas around the busy hospital grounds.

It is understood last week’s heavy rain triggered some chaotic car parking scenes at the hospital, with at least one car becoming trapped in a quagmire.

The issue yesterday sparked a backlash from the State Opposition, which called on the government to fix the ongoing problem and stop “ignoring” the needs of the Mount Gambier community.

A survey by The Border Watch at 11.30am yesterday revealed there were 16 cars parked on muddy-grassed areas, four cars parked in non-designated parking spaces around the carparking areas and 30 cars parked along Allison Street, adjacent the hospital.

Opposition Health spokesman Vickie Chapman said the government must start listening to the community and fix the parking problems at the hospital.

She said people were “outraged” over the continuing mess and lack of action by the government.

“The government can fund a $2b rebuild of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, but it is bizarre they cannot find money to provide a basic requirement such as carparking at Mount Gambier,” Ms Chapman said yesterday.

She said the Mount Gambier facility had been classified as one of four regional hospitals across country SA, but did not even have enough parking spaces to accommodate current demands.

“The government clearly has no understanding of the difficulty this creates for country people; they just don’t seem to care,” Ms Chapman said.

“They have had plenty of time to build another carpark and have had plenty of money over the years.”

Meanwhile, Mount Gambier City Council corporate and community services director Grant Humphries said council had previously offered to build an additional carpark at the hospital if it was funded by the government or the hospital.

But he said that offer had not been taken up and there were no current offers on the table.

“There is no doubt that additional carparking is needed at the hospital,” Mr Humphries said.

But he said council was not responsible for parking at private facilities.

“It is not a public carpark, it is not the responsibility of ratepayers,” said Mr Humphries, who explained it appeared more carparking should have been constructed when the hospital was first built.

While there were no offers on the table, he said council was willing to talk to health/hospital officials about how council could help in the process.

Lower South East Health Services director David Walshaw yesterday moved to assure the community that Mount Gambier Hospital was investigating ways to increase parking capacity.

“The hospital has been in discussion with the City Council and also the building owner to look at the carparking issue as part of a site master planning strategy,” Mr Walshaw said.

“Architects Swanbury Penglase have been engaged and have recently spent several months working on a strategy to increase occupancy and capacity on the site and these plans are currently being reviewed by the hospital executive.

“We want to ensure that the carparking plan is being considered in a whole-of-site response to the future health care needs of the community and we do not wish to embark on an interim strategy which may not fit in with our long-term vision for how the site will be configured in the future.”

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One Response to “Hospital parking quagmire worsens”

  1. Pete on July 8th, 2009 2:26 pm 1

    As a new dad, I’ve become increasingly frustrated by this situation.

    Not only do I have to endure what seems like an eternity of walking through every other ward to get to Maternity, but I then have to walk the same again to get to my car in the paddock out the front!

    What really gripes me though, is looking out of the windows in the Maternity ward at a massive empty paddock at the rear of the hospital.

    I would love to hear someones excuse as to why this area couldn’t be developed as a staff carparking area to free up more room in parking areas around the main entrance for the public.…

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