Free parking may be coming to Surrey Memorial Hospital
Posted November 19, 2018 5:45 am.
Last Updated November 19, 2018 9:14 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) – If you have to visit a loved one at the hospital, you may have lamented having to pay for parking while doing so. But that could soon change for some drivers going to Surrey Memorial Hospital.
Free two-hour parking could soon be available for dozens of spots in the area.
This was a campaign promise by newly minted mayor Doug McCallum.
The city operates 103 on-street pay parking spaces around the hospital, which a staff report suggests changing to free two-hour spaces. Fraser Health and private companies operate another 2,000 off-street parking spaces nearby.
“Parking records show that most vehicles at these locations currently park for less than two hours,” reads the staff report.
It adds a two-hour limit “will discourage workers and other non-visitors from parking in these spaces, thereby maximizing the chances of visitors finding an available parking space.”
“Every time I go to the hospital, it’s nothing but a hassle,” one man told NEWS 1130 at Surrey Memorial Hospital Monday morning. “It takes $30 to park for a couple of hours. It’s ridiculous.”
“It’s something. It’s a good step because a lot of people are struggling out there … It’s bad. It’s harsh,” a woman added.
Council will also consider whether to allow free two-hour parking at a City Hall parkade. The city operates 827 spaces there, providing parking for the City Centre Library, City Hall, a hotel, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
The move would cost the city about $850,000 per year in lost revenue.
Surrey Council is set to talk about the issue and vote on it on Monday.
