Surrey approves free two-hour parking at hospital, city hall
Posted November 19, 2018 9:08 pm.
Last Updated November 20, 2018 6:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) — Free two-hour parking is coming to some areas surrounding Surrey Memorial Hospital as well as City Hall, after a unanimous vote by council at their Monday meeting.
The move means dozens of on-street parking spots will be free of charge for two hours of parking at a time.
Despite an expected $850,000 yearly loss in city revenue, hospital volunteer Chara Nixon is in favour of the change and says parking is not something visitors should have to deal with when they come to spend time with sick loved ones.
“It is a really big problem,” Nixon said. “I have had incidences where someone has been dying and people have been unable to attend the bedside, because they missed it within a few minutes because they were looking for change for parking.”
The city has 103 spots near Surrey Memorial. But thousands of spots at the hospital remain in limbo; about 2,000 of them in parkades are owned by Fraser Health, and still require payment.
Mayor Doug McCallum says talks are on with the health authority, which he hopes will warm up to the idea. “We’re going to try to convince it … The parkade is the regional health board’s land and we will talk to them and try to convince them to provide free parking.”
“We said that if we got elected, we would do away with paid parking on city streets around Surrey Memorial Hospital. We have already fulfilled that … But that’s ultimately up to [Fraser Health] to decide whether they will or not,” he added
The health authority hasn’t revealed its plans for the parkades. If Fraser Health refuses to provide free parking, McCallum says visitors will just have to try their luck and nab a spot on the street.
Lost parking revenue won’t mean tax hikes: McCallum
The price of doing away with paid parking on hundreds of spots in the city is on the minds of taxpayers. Many are questioning how the city can afford the $850,000 loss in annual revenue.
McCallum insists people in Surrey shouldn’t be worried, promising no steep tax increases.
“We’ve been very clear with taxes in Surrey. We won’t increase them any more than the Consumer Price Index. That’s set in stone for future years.”
But he admits there is no plan to offset the costs of scrapping paid parking.
“No, there isn’t. We have said during the campaign that we’re working on our budgets for next year. That revenue, we will have to readjust our budgets in the city to cover that.”
This follows various pricey promises from McCallum and his party, including the creation of a municipal police force.
