Chico seeks feedback on hospital parking

A new parking implementation plan is seeking to resolve issues near Enloe Medical Center for residents living in the surrounding neighborhood. The Chico Traffic Engineering department is seeking feedback from residents prior to an Oct. 4 presentation to internal affairs.

The new plan was developed by Dixon Resources Unlimited for the city. The plan looks at different solutions for residents near the hospital who struggle to find parking due to an influx of hospital patients and employees parking in the neighborhood during business hours.

Chico Senior Traffic Engineer Bikram Kahlon said one way the city is exploring fixing the issue is better signs to direct hospital guests to the parking garage with 747 spaces.

To understand the flow of traffic at Enloe, Kahlon said surveys were done to find trends with the hospital. On average, 929 patients visit the hospital per day. The average length of stay for patients is 4 hours, with Tuesday and Thursday being the days with the most demand for parking spots because of surgeries.

“We’ve had a lot of complaints from residents that they can’t find parking spaces,” Kahlon said. “One of their main complaint is that employees from Enloe are parking in their neighborhood. That takes parking away from the residents.”

Kahlon said that through meetings with members of the community and consulting with Dixon Resources Unlimited, they now have multiple options for ways to implement change. An idea besides better signs includes time limited parking and permits to allow residents to park indefinitely.

“That’s another solution that can work, especially if residents are working during the day time,” Kahlon said. “Those spaces can be used by visitors to the hospital. Someone who’s having surgery, they can park in front and use that space and it’s not wasted.”

Before presenting the implementation plan to the city’s Internal Affairs Committee, the Chico Traffic Engineering department is requesting community feedback. The department can be contacted at traffic@chicoca. gov or by calling 879-6940.

The draft implementation plan can be viewed by visiting https://bit. ly/3Cx4xRi.

The public can also attend the Internal Affairs Committee meeting taking place at 2 p.m. Oct. 4 in conference room 1 of the City Council Chambers at 421 Main St.