01-19-2016, 08:59 AM
Mixed feelings about this. It is reasonable to control parking prices if high parking prices are affecting people's access to health care, which has been suggested by studies behind this decision.
But it's a market distortion and it provides some perverse incentives (including illicit use of that parking). An urban hospital might not be motivated to provide adequate parking, if building a new parking garage isn't going to be covered properly by revenue. After all, the hospital's parking is price controlled, but a private garage next to the hospital has no such problem.
In cases where hospitals are viewed as taking too much money from parking and flowing it back into their operations, we could look instead at why those hospitals have taken that step to begin with.
I can't help but think about GRH and its recent parking garage renovation. That cost was substantial (wish I could find the article that said how much), and I wonder if they anticipated this when they decided to undertake that project.
But it's a market distortion and it provides some perverse incentives (including illicit use of that parking). An urban hospital might not be motivated to provide adequate parking, if building a new parking garage isn't going to be covered properly by revenue. After all, the hospital's parking is price controlled, but a private garage next to the hospital has no such problem.
In cases where hospitals are viewed as taking too much money from parking and flowing it back into their operations, we could look instead at why those hospitals have taken that step to begin with.
I can't help but think about GRH and its recent parking garage renovation. That cost was substantial (wish I could find the article that said how much), and I wonder if they anticipated this when they decided to undertake that project.