Free car parking at Ninewells welcome but there needs to be regulation

Free car parking at Ninewells
cannot lead to a free for all

I welcome the ending of car parking charges at Ninewells Hospital which was announced recently.  I've been calling for the charges to be abolished since he was first elected in 2007.  I have written to the Chief Executive of NHS Tayside asking for a briefing about how this will be implemented as free car parking charges cannot mean unregulated parking at Ninewells.

I have always believed that charging for car parking at Ninewells Hospital was wrong.  It was a tax on illness and an unwelcome burden to staff.  Once the Scottish Government abolished car parking charges at other hospitals it should have included Ninewells.  It was perverse that poor people's taxes in Dundee were subsidising free car parking for millionaires in other parts of Scotland.

Car parking charges at Ninewells led many people to park in the streets surrounding the hospital often causing problems for my constituents who live in nearby roads.  The new system cannot become unregulated.  There must be measures in place which demonstrate that car parking is being used by staff, patients, and visitors to the hospital.  There does need to be some regulation of the car parks to ensure that they are used only by those who have a good reason to be at the hospital.

I have also asked NHS Tayside to look at what they can do to encourage the use of public transport and active travel for visits to the hospital.  Over the last 18 months we can see that many things can be done remotely, does every appointment at Ninewells require to be a face to face appoint could some of the services be offered remotely?  Due to Scottish Government cuts NHS Tayside is trying to reduce the number of properties that it uses which has led to more and more centralisation of services at Ninewells, this has led to more traffic, and it is unhelpful.

I think that much more effort should be used to see how we can encourage the use of public transport and walking and cycling to get to Ninewells.  I think that the Scottish Government should look at whether it could offer free bus travel to patients attending the hospital if that was appropriate when attending outpatient appointments for example.  As the Chair of Tactran, the Regional Transport Partnership, I know that we are looking to work with NHS Tayside to promote sustainable travel to Ninewells and other health care settings.

I am glad that, at long last, the Scottish Government has agreed with me that car parking charges at Ninewells are unacceptable.  It is important that we get the next stage right and ensure that we promote responsible car parking and look to develop a more sustainable travel plan for the future at Ninewells.