Fraser Health Authority has responded to Surrey council’s intention to ask it to remove pay parking at Surrey Memorial Hospital in line with its decision to make parking free on neighbouring city streets.
Kind of.
“We have not heard from the City of Surrey at this time,” Jacqueline Blackwell, public affairs consultant for FHA, told the Now-Leader on Tuesday morning. “We welcome the opportunity to work with our municipal stakeholders should they bring their concerns to us.”
On Monday night council ratified its campaign promise to remove pay-parking on the streets immediately outside the hospital and implement free two-hour parking.
Mayor Doug McCallum said he will ask Fraser Health to follow suit and offer free, two-hour parking.
“We’re going to try to convince them,” the mayor said after the Nov. 19 council meeting. “The parkade is the regional health board’s land and we will talk to them and try to convince them to provide free parking also. But ultimately that’s up to them to decide whether they will or not.”
The city operates 103 on-street pay parking spots in the immediate vicinity of SMH while Fraser Health or private companies operate 2,041 off-street parking spaces. It costs $4.25 for the first hour of parking at one of SMH’s 1,790 stalls and $3.50 per additional hour. If you’re parking in one of the Surrey Medical Arts Building lot’s 87 stalls, you’ll pay $3 for the first hour and $2.50 for each additional hour. Parking in one of Surrey Health Sciences lot’s 185 stalls will cost you $2.50 per hour, and SMH has 43 Creekside lot stall that cost $3.75 for the first hour ad $3.25 for each additional hour.
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Meantime, Blackwell outlined some reasons why pay parking is in place at SMH.
“As our hospitals are often centrally located, their parking spaces are very sought after. Paid parking at hospitals discourages customers and employees of surrounding businesses from parking at our sites, so these stalls are available for patients and their families,” she explained. “Parking rates also encourage stall rotation to ensure patients have access to parking at all times.”
She said money generated from parking fees covers “operating costs to provide safe parking, such as lighting, security patrols and repaving” and “any additional funds are reinvested into health care programs and services.”
Prior to the election, McCallum told the Now-Leader his Safe Surrey Coalition’s reasoning behind the move to free parking at the hospital. “When you go there you’re under stress or tension because you’re going to visit loved ones or members of your family that is sick and the last thing you need to do is to reach into your pocket and try to find some money to do a parking metre,” he said.
Blackwell said Fraser Health appreciates “that some people may struggle to pay for parking, especially when they are dealing with long-term illness.
“For this reason, we have a hardship process to waive fees where it poses a genuine challenge to patients and families,” she said. “Most sites have a variety of pay options to accommodate different types of patient visits, including daily, weekly and extended stay rates as well as subsidized rates for those with financial need.
“In addition, parking vouchers or fee waivers are often made available through the relevant medical program for patients who must make frequent trips to hospitals and clinics, such as hemodialysis and chemotherapy patients.”
— file by Amy Reid
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