Hospital to crack down on illegal parking

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Ray Fardell travelled to the Yarmouth hospital Friday for a minor medical procedure, only to find an even bigger pain before he even entered the building.

Fardell, a resident of Mahone Bay, was in Yarmouth Friday morning. When he arrived at the hospital in search of a place to park, he soon realized that not everyone feels the need to park in the designated parking lots. Fardell said he was upset to see so many people parking in zones designated for emergency vehicles only.

"I'm not a moaner or groaner," he said, "but when it's somebody's life on the line…"

Fardell said that during his morning in Yarmouth he asked both hospital staff and local RCMP about the lack of parking enforcement. In both cases, he said, he was unhappy with the response he received.

Enforcement of the parking rules at the hospital, he said, does not seem like a high priority.

Fraser Mooney Jr., spokesperson for South West Health, said the hospital does have a parking problem. However, recent work at the site, which includes the creation of 100 new parking spaces and more accessible spaces, should help fix that. Mooney said stronger enforcement of the no-parking rules would be coming in September.

As for enforcement, Mooney said the hospital is in the process of examining its options and putting a plan in place.

"We're going to start with a warning system," he said. "We're going to put notes on windshields and identify those cars that are parked in no-parking areas with plans to hopefully have tickets and towing if it continues to be a problem."

Areas of the hospital that are designated as no parking or for emergency parking only are designated as such for a reason, said Mooney. He stressed the importance of keeping space open so fire trucks and ambulances could access the hospital without issues. It is also important, he said, to keep spaces free for doctors on emergency callback so they can park close to the hospital at any time.

Some of the parking areas that the public is to use come with a $2 fee. The decision to charge for parking was not an easy one, said Mooney, but because it was a trend that was becoming the norm across the province, Yarmouth decided to follow suit.

Mooney said the money goes into the hospital's general budget revenue stream, from which the hospital would then decide how to spend the money. In some cases that would mean upkeep and improvements of the parking lots, but it could be used for other things. He also pointed out that there is a free parking lot off the Grove Road.