Hospital patients stung by parking

Palmerston North Hospital patients are suffering a hit to the hip pocket as they pay to park in the building’s grounds.

Meanwhile, hospital staff are dodging their paid car parks by instead leaving their vehicles on nearby streets where they don’t have to pay a cent.

Officials are desperately trying to find a solution to the nightmare clogging surrounding streets and frustrating patients and residents alike.

A parking time limit has been trialled in some streets and the Palmerston North City Council has plans to extend this.

The hospital has suggested extending free parking from 30 minutes to 40 minutes and offering incentives for its staff not to park on the street.

Palmerston North woman Lauren Gillies estimated she spent $60 a week on parking at the hospital, while receiving treatment for a post-operation wound.

She often had to leave during the day and return to hospital later, so she was hit twice by the parking fess.

‘‘It is pretty ridiculous... It does make you think if you should go to hospital.’’

She did not think extending free time from 30 to 40 minutes would see much change, especially when patients could not choose how long they were at hospital.

‘‘When you go to ED it is unexpected, but they don’t let you off.’’

Rongopai St resident Allan Lovell said his street became a ‘‘prime target’’ because people could park there all day.

‘‘The street looks like a car park.’’

Lovell said people even parked on the yellow lines at peak times.

Neighbours had seen hospital office workers shifting their cars during the day and he was disappointed a large staff parking area was going unused.

Lovell said most people in Palmerston North would expect to be able to park outside their own home.

‘‘The most infuriating thing is when you stay at home and you go out for 15 minutes, and [then] come back and your space is gone.’’

He was in favour of a time limit for his street, as was Heretaunga St resident Sue Currie.

‘‘Definitely, it would be a bit of a deterent.’’

She said Florence Ave had improved since the limit was introduced. ‘‘If we have visitors on Sunday it is terribly hard to find them a park.’’

Council senior transportation engineer Glenn Connelly said the council had tried to ‘‘make it fair for everyone’’ by offering both long and short-term parking.

Two-hour parking limits were introduced on Florence Ave and were met with positive feedback from residents and little negative feedback from commuters, Connelly said.

‘‘Residents can also apply for a free permit to exempt them from the time limit. This has been trialled in Woodfield Ave and Puriri Terrace and has been very successful.’’ The council planned to do this in other high-use streets around the hospital, The Plaza and the IRD.