Richmond city council will ask the province and Vancouver Coastal Health to have two hours of free parking at hospitals across B.C.
They are also asking for a system whereby patrons pay as they leave, to cut down on stress caused by pay parking.
Currently, Richmond Hospital nets more than a million dollars a year in parking fees.
In the 2018/19 fiscal year, gross revenue was $1.57 million, but after $343,000 in expenses, more than $1.2 million was left over, and this, according to Provincial Health Services, goes into health programs. This was up marginally from the previous year.
On Monday, Richmond city coun. Carol Day’s motion to lobby the government to reduce parking fees was supported by council. She pointed out this issue has been on the radar of the Minister of Health, Adrian Dix.
“Let’s say you had an hour free parking, and this is just a suggestion,” Day told the Richmond News. “But if we had a free hour, and then people thought, ‘well, just to be safe, I’ll buy an extra hour’ … in most cases, you can be in and out in two hours.”
In November 2019, Dix told media he is reviewing the elimination of hospital parking fees — which he called “a challenging and complicated issue” — with Premier John Horgan.
While that review may not result in free parking, said Dix at the time, it may provide people more relief.
In her motion, Day noted parking and violation tickets add more stress to hospital visits.
It’s something she’s experienced first-hand.
Day, who has had to visit the hospital regularly with her parents, said she has received seven parking tickets in the last seven months at Richmond Hospital, and is at the point now where she just pays the $63-monthly parking fee.
Day said she’s also heard similar stories from seniors around the community, with everyone “just frustrated beyond belief.”
“I just think that the way this is set up is cruel to people...you somehow have to psychically know how much parking you’re going to need, and you can never guess,” Day said.
Many people also don’t know they can challenge parking tickets, said Day, and instead “reluctantly” pay the $40 ticket or $80 fine.
Hospital parking fees vary across the province.
At Richmond Hospital, parking costs $3.50 for the first hour, plus $3.50 for each additional hour. The 24-hour rate is $25, and $63 monthly.
At Vancouver General Hospital, parking costs $3 for the first 30 minutes, and $6 for the first hour and every additional hour. The 24-hour rate is $18.75.
- With files from Maria Rantanen
