Parking no longer free around Nanaimo hospital

The City of Nanaimo is introducing paid parking around Nanaimo Regional General Hospital to encourage more vehicle turnover.

Starting April 1, parking will be $1.25 per hour on Dufferin Crescent and Boundary Avenue where they border the hospital, from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking will be free on weekends and evenings.

There are no homes in the paid-parking area of Dufferin Crescent, and paid parking will be in effect on the side of Boundary Avenue where there are no homes.

Full enforcement is set to begin April 8.

Side streets immediately adjacent to the hospital will have two-hour parking limits for nonresidents.

Residents will not have a time limit.

“It’s trying to be fair to all users of the streets,” said Bill Sims, city general manager of engineering and public works, adding there is plenty of unrestricted free parking in the area for those heading to the hospital.

Demand for parking in Nanaimo’s high-density hospital area has been growing. The hospital site has its own parking, but not enough to meet demand from employees and others, so staff, visitors and patients end up parking on nearby streets.

Some people would leave their vehicles in one spot all day, Sims said.

Drivers can pay via traditional parking kiosks on Boundary Avenue and Dufferin, or by scanning the HotSpot QR code sign with a smartphone or by downloading the HotSpot Parking app. Parking will be by licence plate number.

Major credit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay and Visa Debit will all be accepted.

Signs will be posted to outline details of the new parking system.

Before the pandemic, a parking strategy had been developed to mitigate the impact on surrounding streets. It’s being rolled out now as parking returns to normal levels, the city said.