Typical UK headline (above). The emphasis is mine. The problem is that there is a parking shortage around a hospital and a lot of traffic, therefore it would seem that an ambulance could get stuck in traffic and a person near the hospital, could die…Well lets read the story.
The head of the local ambulance company says that he hasn’t had any problems, or certainly fewer than other ambulances in the near by communities. So what’s the big deal.
Its simple. Poor planning in the building of a "super hospital" costing over half a billion dollars. No money for parking. I don’t really have a problem with that — the parking should pay for itself. And people would pay, if they had a place to park. The Uber Planners in the UK seem to forget that the private sector exists.
I know of a number of companies here in the US that would be happy to fund, build, and run a garage for a hospital or college. And after 30 or 40 years, give it to the organization it supports.
Time to start thinking outside the box. AND time for the local press to get a bit real and report the facts instead of the "feelings." What am I saying, we have yet to get a fact out of New Orleans, and we have a thousand reporters on site. Every day that goes by shows another "fact" is a rumor printed or reported without checking……sigh Time for a wee whisky, single malt with a splash of water…
J
One Response
John:
When I was Director of the San Francisco Parking Authority I received a number of phone calls from doctors at San Francisco General Hospital complainting to me about the lack of parking serving the hospital. This was creating a problem for them because SFGH was a major research facility for AIDS and patients necessary for their reseach would not show up on regular basis for appointments if they could not find parking.
The parking situation reached it peak when I was invited by the Director of the Hospital to attend a meeting to discuss the parking problem and solutions. The meeting had to be cancelled I couldn’t find a parking space after circling hospital parking areas and surrounding streets for 30 minutes.
The good news is that I was able to help them fund and built a new parking structure. The hospital functions much better with avilable parking.