End in sight for parking problems at hospital
Parking is a continual source of controversy at many hospitals – both availability and price. At the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, however, it’s availability that has been the biggest issue.
Parking survey? Just ask residents!
The Hartshill site is home to the county’s biggest hospital, and when plans for its construction were originally submitted, they included a large multi-storey car park. When the hospital was built, however, only a three-storey car park was completed. This doesn’t provide enough parking for those using the hospital, which includes up to 7,000 staff alone. This has resulted in residents on surrounding streets becoming frustrated with staff and visitors parking outside their homes from 7am until the early hours of the morning.
Parking review commissioned
Hospital management says it is all too aware of the parking issues – both for staff, patients and visitors, and for local residents. It has commissioned a parking survey and review that will look at the current state of play as far as parking is concerned and make some suggestions and options for increasing parking capacity quickly and for the long-term. As building work is still continuing at the site, parking places are often unavailable, so it is thought that a new multi-storey car park may be the best option. In fact, reports suggest that the hospital has already contacted the local council to talk about creating a new car park.
Parking issues often overlooked
Although planning applications for large developments like hospitals or shopping centres must include adequate parking facilities, it is common for these parking options to change once regular use of the development takes place. A parking survey before planning applications are submitted can help to ensure that developers make the best possible provision from the very beginning. Equally, if parking becomes an issue once the development is complete, a survey of journeys, usage and parking can help to improve things for customers or users, encouraging more people to use the development and improving relations with the local community.
Parking survey data from Road Data Services
Talk to us about how our professional data collection and analysis services can help you mitigate parking problems. We work with local authorities, planners and developers to help reduce the impact of traffic in and around your development, and to improve parking facilities wherever possible. Call us today to find out more.
