Hospital parking hot topic at meeting of municipalities

Municipal leaders brought the issue of hospital parking fees to the annual meeting of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities.

Hospitals in Shelburne, Yarmouth and Digby increased the charges from $3 to $4 on Sept. 1. The fee isn't a flat all-day fee either. If people leave for any reason and return, they'll have to pony up more cash.

"If a visitor leaves for dinner and comes back, they have to incur another $4 fee," said Barrington councillor Shaun Hatfield.

Hatfield says because of the fees, people are parking outside of hospital parking lots.

"When people are parking on the sides of the road in outlying areas so they can access their loved ones, there's something about this that doesn't seem compassionate or fair," he said.

West Hants warden Richard Dauphinee says the hospital in his area doesn't charge for parking.

"I know that health is a huge expense and Nova Scotia has financial problems, but you have to look at the other side, the humane side," he said.

The Municipality of Barrington proposed a resolution calling for hospitals to only charge what's needed to run the parking lots, but other municipal leaders pointed out that the money raised is used to buy equipment. The vote was close, but the resolution was defeated.

Dauphinee isn't giving up though.

"There's always another year," he said.