Farewell to hospital parking problems

09/06/05

Related : Carpark photos and design plans of the new car park.

Parking problems at Tauranga Hospital will be a thing of a past when the new Clarke St carpark opens towards the middle of the year.

Construction of the carpark began in January. It 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.

People will make their way to the main hospital campus via a lift, which will provide access between the carpark and the hospital. The site will also house the helicopter hangar and helipad.

Project director James Crawford says 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.

"By building the Clarke St carpark before the main construction programme begins, we are ensuring that staff and the public will have access to a purpose-built carpark both during the project and when the new hospital is built," he says.

"This is good news for the public who, at times, find getting a park on the hospital campus can be difficult. The 300 new parks are considerably more than those currently available on the hospital site. The new parking area will also have 24-hour closed circuit TV monitoring."