He pointed out that parking might be harder to find if the time was increased to an hour.
Southland committee member Dot Wilson said holders of mobility cards were entitled to double the standard available time on metered parking, providing the allowable time was paid, but this would only allow an hour around the hospital instead of the previous two hours.
Parks on the hospital side of Cumberland, Frederick, Great King and Hanover Sts were changed to 30 minutes in October as a response to the demand for short-term parking in the area, including from parents dropping off and collecting children at the hospital's early childhood centre.
The hospital increased the number of mobility parks on its premises from six to nine.
Otago committee member Peter Barron said it could be useful for the hospital to have the ability to grant a limited number of parking approvals for people in situations where they unavoidably stayed all day in parks.
Under the existing system, people getting tickets in those circumstances had to write to the council with an explanation, and this would save them that step, he said.
Otago District Health Board chief executive Brian Rousseau suggested a specific hospital-parking section could be linked to the council's 10-year draft parking strategy.
It was agreed that the planning and funding team would make a submission on the strategy after consultation with CCS Disability Action, with a view to endorsing any common concerns.
Speaking after the meeting, CCS disability awareness education co-ordinator Julie Woods said the organisation had concerns about the lack of mobility parks in the vicinity of the hospital, and the 30-minute restriction which was "a real issue for someone in a wheelchair".
