However, speculation the hospital might have no parking at all has been dismissed.
Concerns about parking erupted at a Dunedin City Council planning and environment committee meeting yesterday and Cr Carmen Houlahan said ratepayers would be angry about any proposal that removed car parks from the city.
People complained often about not being able to get parks near the existing hospital, and business people were concerned about parks being taken up near their sites "and they’re afraid that’s going to get worse with this new build".
Cr Rachel Elder said staff needed to be safe when they were getting to and from shifts and accessibility was crucial.
However, New Dunedin Hospital project chairman Pete Hodgson said after the council meeting that rumours the hospital might have no parking were not true.
Details had not been worked out yet but there would be parking at the site, he said.
"It will have to be provided to cater for all the needs."
At the meeting yesterday, councillors debated the implications of a new national policy statement on urban development, which comes into effect this month.
One result is that parking requirements will be removed from district plans and this could make it easier for developments to proceed in higher-density areas. The number of car parks could be driven by market demand, rather than minimum standards.
Cr Houlahan said she did not support efforts to make people uncomfortable about getting around the city.
"I cannot support this strategy at all.
"It will have serious implications for our city."
Committee chairman David Benson-Pope said after the meeting there was some concern the new rules might "capture the hospital accidentally" but an acceptable solution would be found.
He was dismissive of the "panic" about parking.
"We all know there will be parking required," he said.
"We will need it for staff and visitors, and the city council has advocated for parking.
"If it transpires there is a problem, we will find the best solution."
Mr Hodgson said the national policy statement was irrelevant.
"You can’t build a hospital of that size and not have car parks. That’s a really dumb idea."
Related Stories
Comments
Is the issue hospital parking CBD parking, or both? What concerns, if any, do hospital workers have about safety?
"and the city council has advocated for parking" Benson-Pope.
Well you could have fooled me! Because over the past few years it has become apparent this council does not want cars nor parking in this city.
The DCC owned car park at the north end of the railway station is a perfect example. Instead of simply resealing it, the council want to close it for many months and 'encourage' other forms of transport.
So, enough, Cr Benson-Pope! Dunedin residents know exactly what you lot are up to!
Oh for Pete's sake. Stop with the stupid "architectural" design and give us a decent sized, simply designed hospital that does the job it needs to do!
No parking leads to a dying CBD and a dying retail. It is a very simple concept- amazing the DCC has yet to understand it after all these years. May be convert the old hospital site or parts to Princes St to a multistorey carpark?
Yes.
I did hear a rumour that they were going to build a 3 level underground carpak beneath the old Cadburys site between the one way South and Anzac Ave.
$10 an hour parking and free carwash every high tide ... ;-)
Hope it's not true, as three levels will not be enough. That is the right location for a multi storey carpark building though (which could also go a floor or two underground if they could find some way to keep it watertight).
Ideally it'd maybe have one or two underground floors and maybe four/five above ground floors, with an air bridge (maybe even a tunnel too) across the one way south.
Was that even a journalist that wrote that garbage. A couple of councilors that don't think before they speak and it's made into a front page story. Pete Hodgson's statement at the end is the only worthy part.
Know about news value, do you?
The lot of the Councillors knew this but overlooked it or decided I see no problems here approach and some had their noses too far the bosses backside...Sorry Pete Hodge that is a word smithing approach, hoping it will go away. If it is not on a plan it isn't happening and Parking is a big part of any Hospital and at this stage should have been on the design. The song of the late - Bob Marley's comes to mind Get up, Stand up - . Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight! - Dunedin you have a bunch of clowns running the show, they have been exposed and they need to be held accountable before it is too late. And people have problems with Cr Vandervis asking Questions and class it is being a problem, it is not he is fact finding and trying to get such info out in the open, Wake up Dunedin !!!! and Do something before it is too late.
Obviously the current hospital has a (multilevel) carpark, but the carpark for the new hospital needs to be even bigger with much more capacity. As it is, visitors, patients and even staff are having to park on the streets and in nearby parking buildings or outdoor car parks.
I've had to do this myself many times, and i know workers at the hospital who have to battle to find on street car parks or parks in multi storey car parks every single day.
Minimum of 5 levels for a new carpark building would be needed i'd say (more or less depending on how big a footprint it takes up), otherwise public parks are going to be as stretched as they are now, or worse.