Carpark provides safe environment

23/03/05

Patient safety will be increased when Tauranga Hospital 's new Clarke St carpark opens in the middle of the year.

The construction of a lift at the south-east corner of the carpark means air ambulance patients will be transported directly to and from the emergency department, instead of being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, via Cameron Rd.

The carpark development includes a new hangar to house the TrustPower TECT rescue helicopter, and a new helipad. Helicopter pilot Liam Brettkelly says the hangar will be funded largely through a donation made by a Tauranga couple, who wish to remain anonymous. The design is being modelled on the hangar built recently at Rotorua Hospital . The existing helipad will not be demolished until the new one is operational so patients can still be delivered to the hospital, although the helicopter is based at the airport during construction.

Providing a safe environment for hospital visitors and staff is an integral part of the carpark design, says Project Director James Crawford.

It meets the requirements of CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) which is based on the philosophy that proper design and effective use of the environment can lead to a reduction in fear and incidents of crime. This strategy was adopted a year ago by the Bay of Plenty district.

The new Clarke St carpark will be lit and will have 24-hour closed circuit TV (CCTV) monitoring. A comprehensive planting programme is also planned. Mr Crawford says the trees selected will not block the view to the carpark gully from the hospital campus above and will not affect the helicopter flight path.

Scrub, stumps and privet around the site are being removed and 2060 trees - most of which are native species - will be planted in the carpark area, creating a native bushland environment. Sixty larger native trees, including Kauri, Rimu, Titoki, Pohutukawa, Puriri and Totara will be planted along the embankment area and a further 2000 species will be planted throughout the embankment to form a native bushland environment.

The new carpark will accommodate around 300 vehicles and will be used by both staff and the public during the refurbishment and construction programme. It will also serve as the hospital's main carpark when the redevelopment programme is completed in 2009.

Mr Crawford says the Clarke St carpark is being built before the main construction programme begins to ensure that staff and the public have access to a purpose-built carpark both during the project and when the new hospital is built.

This is good news for the public who, at times, find getting a park on the hospital campus can be difficult," he says. "The 300 new parks are considerably more than those currently available on the hospital site."

Once construction begins there will be limited public carparking available on the hospital campus. Existing carparks will be closed and then re-opened as construction activities permit. When the project is completed, there will be some public carparking on the main campus.