Parking in Waterloo Region

[ookpik]

Lowest common denominator politics at its worst.

You should watch the marketplace news clip for the reasons why this cap is in place. There are some hospitals that seem to take advantage of sick families to maximize their income, including sadly SickKids in Toronto.

One size doesn't fit all. Some random issues with this scheme...

1. Hospitals like Sick Kids and Mt Sinai in downtown Toronto have to prevent commuters from using their lots for cheap parking. So they charge high rates commensurate with the area. Forcing them to issue half price passes is going to fill their lots with commuters' cars. (OTOH a hospital like St Mary's doesn't have this sort of pressure and shouldn't have to charge the $12/day they now charge.)  

2. Discounts for 5, 10 and 30 day passes are fine for people who visit relatives who are in the hospital for long periods. But it does nothing for someone who goes to the hospital for a test or is a day patient. Likewise a n-day pass for 50% off is no bargain to someone who visits every other day or less frequently.

3. Hospitals depend on family and friends who visit patients and providing care that their own staff would otherwise have to provide. Think of helping patients with feeding, water, bathroom, etc. Perhaps they should even pay those visitors for the money they save on staffing  Charging such visitors to park seems like an insult to injury.

4. Hospitals claim they use much of their parking revenue to fund legitimate hospital health care. If that's true then why doesn't the receipt designate that portion so it can be used as a valid charitable donation claim on income tax returns. Even $5/day can add up to a significant tax savings. Surely that would also reduce some of the negativity about high parking rates.

That said, I'm glad I'm not a hospital administrator who has to deal with all these conflicting issues.

[Canard]

They could just have you validate your parking ticket inside the hospital (say, at the nursing station on the floor of the person you're visiting) to erase the fee. Then if a commuter uses the lot, they have to pay.

[zanate]

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.

[MidTowner]

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.

The CEO of Grand River Hospital was on the radio discussing this move by the province, and he said the renovation was $3 million. He suggested that this was a surprise that would disadvantage them in trying to recoup that cost.

[ookpik]

They could just have you validate your parking ticket inside the hospital (say, at the nursing station on the floor of the person you're visiting) to erase the fee. Then if a commuter uses the lot, they have to pay.

I'm sure the nurses will all be in favour of adding one more non-essential task to their duties

[ookpik]

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.

The province has frozen payments to hospitals for quite a number of years so they've had to find alternate sources of revenue, including huge increases in parking rates. It was only a few years ago that local hospitals charged $6/day. Now it's double. 

This also explains why there's a Timmy's in almost every hospital these days. That a regional cardiac care centre like St Mary's would allow a vendor of high fat, high sugar junk "food" in their hospital, never mind at their main entrance, is a particularly poignant example of how desperate they must be for revenue. Ditto for GRH.

OTOH medical care will consume as much money as taxpayers can throw at it. Increase funding and you'll soon hear the same pleas for even more. So medical care has to be rationed for that reason. If it was an easy circle to square it would have been done years ago. But I digress...

[BuildingScout]

They could just have you validate your parking ticket inside the hospital (say, at the nursing station on the floor of the person you're visiting) to erase the fee. Then if a commuter uses the lot, they have to pay.

That's how parking passes work today. You have to identify which patient you are visiting to get a discount.

[jamincan]

As mentioned above, hospitals are being squeezed very tightly. I know that, at least for the hospital my Mom works out of, they've actually had funding cuts over the past few years. It's only natural that they'll come to rely more on alternate sources of revenue.

[Spokes]

How is this bad?

In my mind, hospital parking should be free. The last thing someone wants to think about when their loved one is dying is if they have the right change for the parking gate.

I don't see how this is bad either.  In the days/weeks leading up to my son's birth, with tests and the delivery we spent an obscene amount of money on parking at GRH

I don't think it needs to be free, but a freeze isn't a bad thing.

[ookpik]

It can't be free for the reasons people have posted above. But for patients who have regular need to visit the hospital it should be reduced. GRH does that for cancer and dialysis patients. There's no reason why they couldn't do something similar with child birth, cardiac/stroke recovery, etc. If not a monthly pass then perhaps a card that offers reduced rates during a set period, e.g. until after birth.

[Spokes]

It can't be free for the reasons people have posted above. But for patients who have regular need to visit the hospital it should be reduced. GRH does that for cancer and dialysis patients. There's no reason why they couldn't do something similar with child birth, cardiac/stroke recovery, etc. If not a monthly pass then perhaps a card that offers reduced rates during a set period, e.g. until after birth.

They do offer this for the NICU.

[rangersfan]

Article in The Record talking about a long awaited parking garage for Uptown Waterloo, that will be delayed due to the city's ability to find a developer to help fund the project. No location has been decided.
http://m.therecord.com/news-story/624182...years-away

[Viewfromthe42]

For a parking garage to be viable, you need some combination of sufficient demand, and fewer alternative options. Waterloo has been very hard pressed to make it less appealing to drive, or harder to find free parking in UpTown, meaning there are still plenty of alternative options. They have yet been unable to draw any significant office employment to UpTown, because that would require height of buildings in the no-more-than-3-4-floors zone, and unlike residential, an office won't be satisfied building south of Allen or North of Central. So it's no surprise that there's not been movement, especially from a developer, to get in on this guaranteed-to-fail development.

[ookpik]

Article in The Record talking about a long awaited parking garage for Uptown Waterloo, that will be delayed due to the city's ability to find a developer to help fund the project. 

Perhaps this delay is a blessing in disguise. Once the LRT is here presumably the demand for Uptown parking spaces will diminish and the need for net new spots reduced or eliminated.

[plam]

Article in The Record talking about a long awaited parking garage for Uptown Waterloo, that will be delayed due to the city's ability to find a developer to help fund the project. 

Perhaps this delay is a blessing in disguise. Once the LRT is here presumably the demand for Uptown parking spaces will diminish and the need for net new spots reduced or eliminated.

The article talks about commissioning a parking financial model. Seems like we don't even know what the need for parking is right now. It's a bit shocking that the City was hoping to build a structure without knowing the need for such a structure. And yes, I also hope the demand for Uptown parking will diminish with LRT.