Royal University Hospital parkade a nightmare for patients
Construction work to last until 2017
It's a mess.
Long lineups. Not enough spaces. Multiple sets of stairs.
"Well, I'm just driving around and I have a small child with me that I'm going to have to carry down all the steps to try to go to the parking office," said Colleen Johnson.
She spoke to CBC while cruising the multi-level parkade hoping for a spot to open.
Todd Stewart drove up from Regina to take his 69-year-old mother to an appointment.
"She's had two hips replaced, so going up and down stairs is a little more difficult than with somebody who is maybe a little bit healthier.I imagine in the wintertime it would not be so good."
Brian Berzolla is the director of Support Services.
He says the situation is not perfect, and the Health Region is trying to accommodate the needs of people coming to the hospital.
"No, it is not an ideal situation. We are definitely passionate to those people. We are actually here to assist our clients, our patients ongoing," he said.
The hospital has two mini-vans working between 8 a.m. and 7:30 p.m that will ferry people from the parkade to the hospital.
And there are designated parking spots near the main doors for people with wheelchairs, or expectant mothers.
But he says the reality is that work on the Children's Hospital is going to make it harder to get from the parkade to the hospital.
And not just for months.
The new hospital isn't due to open until 2017.
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