The Queensland government announced its plans of building a multi-storey car park at The Prince Charles Hospital in Chermside West to ease hospital parking stress.
The state government has previously stated its plans to spend up to $7.5 million in the next four years to make car parking at public hospitals more affordable and accessible.
For The Prince Charles Hospital, a second car park is set to be built in the premises. This will be publicly controlled, thereby promising to have fair fees for all patients.
Brisbane councillor for Marchant Fiona King previously filed a petition for the state government to evaluate the need for additional parking for the hospital. She emphasized the need to consider the situation as a matter of urgency. The petition garnered a total of 219 signatures.
Health Minister Steven Miles confirmed that Queensland Health will be in charge of managing and financing the construction of the second multi-storey car park.
The construction will be funded by a loan from the Queensland Treasury which will be repaid by revenue from the carpark.
Mr Miles said it was clear that the government should be the one to build the carpark, not the private sector, so that staff, patients, and visitors can expect lower parking charges. Instead of delivering profits to shareholders, the car park would only need to cover its costs.
Whilst the number of parking spaces and exact location is yet to be determined, the government is now working on developing the plans for the new car park. According to the Health Minister, once the design is finalised, construction will take around 18 months.