Halifax hospitals short nearly 4,000 parking spots to meet peak demand

New numbers from Nova Scotia Health reveal that it needs nearly 4,000 more parking spaces than currently exist to handle the demand at the biggest health-care facilities in Halifax.

For months, a lack of parking has been a major point of contention at the Halifax Infirmary, Victoria General and IWK Health Centre.

Those frustrations grew after the government lifted parking fees across the province, leading to more visitors at hospital lots and pushing staff off site.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson addressed the controversy Thursday, saying that hospitals are going through "growing pains" as they adjust to the new free parking program.

"I think people can expect to see tweaks to the program. We want people to be happy. This is a good news story. We'll get there. There are bumps," Thompson said as reporters pressed her on staff concerns.

Staff have refused to speak publicly, fearing repercussions at work, but they've been venting their frustrations to their unions, opposition leaders and CBC News.

They're not allowed to park in the main lots during peak hours, and are told to either use off-site lots or alternatives to get to work as a way to provide more spaces to patients and their visitors.

If they park at the hospitals, they're charged $6 an hour, or about $72 for their 12-hour shifts.

Available spots are limited

New numbers obtained by CBC News show just how competitive it is to find a spot.

Nova Scotia Health said it has 2,365 parking spots at the Victoria General, Halifax Infirmary and off-site lots. It estimates at peak times, it needs 6,220 spots for the staff, volunteers and patients who drive to the facilities.

That leaves 3,855 people trying to find other places to park in the city's downtown, which is already busy.

Those numbers don't include the needs of the nearby IWK Health Centre, and were calculated before parking became free and demand increased.

"What we need to do is strike a balance between allocation for patients and allocation for staff and make sure that we have the right mix," said Thompson. "There will be more things to understand as we move forward."

She said for now, they need to take a close look at the logistics of the lots and see what the actual need is.

"There's certainly been a spotlight on it," she said. "I think we need to go through these growing pains and I have confidence they'll be worked out."

Members of the province's opposition parties said they don't understand why the work hasn't already been done.

Liberal MLA Derek Mombourquette said the government should have foreseen the problems.

"We're hearing ... from nurses and medical professionals that right now it's a disaster," he said.

NDP MLA Susan LeBlanc echoed Mombourquette's disbelief.

"It's beyond me why this idea of free parking at hospitals couldn't have been figured out before it was played out. But frankly no, it's not working," she said.

The health authority said it is working on solutions and expects to announce some changes to the program soon.