In under a week, a petition asking for better staff parking at the Regina General Hospital has garnered over 7,000 signatures.
The petition was started by an employee of the Regina General Hospital whose vehicle was vandalized there last week. It’s a common occurrence that has had an impact on the community.
“It seems that almost nightly people's vehicles, especially General Hospital staff, are getting smashed into,” David Todd, whose vehicle was broken into near the hospital, said. “No one, no one should have that kind of a feeling, that they're not safe. Especially in the City of Regina.”
The union representing more than 10,000 registered nurses across the province says it knows many of its members struggle to find parking at the hospital. Last year, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses helped form a committee to discuss their members' concerns with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and others impacted.
“It was made very clear to us on several occasions, there will not be a parking structure built, there will not be another parking lot created,” Tracy Zambory, President of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses said.
Zambory says nurses must work with the solutions that have been offered.
“We have to look inside how we can make the park-and-ride work,” she said. “If people can consider carpooling.”
The park-and-ride service shuttles employees to and from the hospital from other parking lots in the city. It runs from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday
The petition was started by Tracey, a hospital employee who asked her last name not be shared. Tracey says the park-and-ride option isn’t viable for everyone.
“When I inquired about it they said there was no place to plug in during winter months, so my vehicle sits for 13 plus hours on a minus 40 day?” she said in a message to CTV News. “We are just asking for them to think about other options. They had no problem forking out billions of dollars for a new stadium but can’t support the thousands of workers helping to save lives?”
SUN says that if employees have an issue with the solutions offered, the Saskatchewan Heath Authority will help them get a taxi to get to their vehicle. The union also said staff can use public transit, or have security escort them to their vehicles.
