Petition launched over parking woes near hospital

A woman has launched a petition calling on city hall to force staff at the Regina General Hospital to buy permits if they want to park on the street.

Rhonda Poll lives near the hospital and says she struggles daily to park in front of her home or anywhere near it.

"I double-park sometimes just to unload my groceries," she said.

The problem, Poll says, is that hospital staff and others working downtown often park by the hospital all day, despite a two-hour parking limit.

She says the city should charge hospital staff $160 for permits to park on the street.

However, city officials say they can't stop anyone from parking on the street.

Leila Francis, executive director of the Heritage Community Association, says enforcement is the answer.

She says vehicles rarely get ticketed for parking illegally near the hospital.

"If the people who park on the streets got tickets every single day...paying for parking somewhere where you should be able to park (wouldn't) seem like such a bad idea," Francis said.

But only 10 parking commissionaires monitor the entire city. They blame the small budget they get from city police.

"If the city decided there was a need for more enforcement we could obviously do that," said Saskatchewan Commissionaires CEO Cliff Walker.

In January, responsibility of the commissionaires will shift from the police to city hall. Coun. Fred Clipsham is hopeful the parking enforcement budget will also increase.

"The health district has been irresponsible," Clipsham said.

"The health district is not providing the needed parking for their employees or visitors. So, the health district has to come to its senses and build a parkade."

Based on a report by Melanie Davidson, CTV Regina