THE IRISH Patients’ Association has criticised plans to close the only public car park at the Mater hospital in Dublin next month.
The 70-space car park on Eccles Street, next to the Mater, will close on September 9th.
Work is to be carried out on the site and a new public underground car park is due to open there next Spring as part of the redevelopment of the adult hospital.
An 80-space car park, for staff only, will remain open.
Yesterday, the hospital’s website advised patients and visitors of the impending closure and recommended alternative parking.
This included a vacant lot on Lower Wellington Street, off Dorset Street, as well as Dublin city centre car parks at Marlborough Street, the Ilac Centre on Parnell Street, the Jervis Street shopping centre and Arnotts car park on O’Connell Street.
It said some on-street car parking was available in the vicinity of the hospital with a maximum stay of three hours. And on-street disabled parking was also available on Eccles Street.
Stephen McMahon, chief executive of the Irish Patients’ Association, said asking ill people to park in car parks near O’Connell Street was like asking well people to park in Cork to get to Dublin.
He questioned why staff spaces were being retained while public spaces were closing. “Any parking should be prioritised for patients.”
A small number of spaces could be retained for staff attending emergencies, he added. “Staff are healthy enough; there is no reason why they can’t walk to the hospital.”
Mr McMahon raised concerns about patient safety and said it could be intimidating to walk in some of the areas around the hospital. He suggested shuttle bus services be organised by the hospital for patients who were forced to park far away and that there should be increased security in the area until the new car park is open.
A spokesman for the Mater hospital said the public spaces had been wound down over the last few years to facilitate the development of the new adult hospital on the site. There was on-street car parking in the area as well as car parks, though he accepted these were “not on the doorstep”.
He said the remaining 80 spaces would be for staff who provide essential services, such as surgeons called in to perform emergency surgery. “This is a temporary closure of public car park spaces; in the spring, 444 new car park spaces will be provided in an underground car park,” he said.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
* The multi-storey car park attached to Arnotts on Middle Abbey Street, costing from €2.80 an hour. At a normal pace the walk from here to the hospital takes about 30 minutes through a busy shopping precinct.
* Another suggested city centre multi-storey is on Parnell Street, a 23-minute walk from the hospital, costing €2.70 an hour, or a daily maximum of €13.50.
* Another suggested public parking space is on Wellington Street Lower, at least eight minutes walk from the hospital. This car park is closed at weekends and bank holidays and costs €12 a day or €2 an hour.
* The 24-hour Clerys car park on Marlborough Street is good value with all-day prices starting from €7.99. But it is a 17-minute walk from here to the hospital.
* On-street parking is available outside the hospital at Eccles Street and Nelson Street. However, at 4pm yesterday both streets were full with little sign of movement except from the taxi rank. NIAMH GRIFFIN
