New Logan Hospital car park to address demand from patients and staff

A new Logan Hospital car park announced by the Palaszczuk Government will ease pressure on patient parking and allow staff to return to onsite parking.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Cameron Dick said the State Government had allocated $5 million in the 2016/17 Budget for the construction of up to 500 additional car spaces on the adjoining TAFE Loganlea Campus.

“From a small, 48-bed community hospital in 1990, Logan Hospital is now a major 448-bed hospital with the second busiest emergency department in Queensland,” Mr Dick said.

“The Hospital’s location in one of Queensland’s largest growth corridors means the demand for its services will continued to grow, and so will the demand for onsite parking.

“As a Government, we know that parking around hospitals can be a source of frustration for everyone and I’m very pleased that this project will substantially increase Logan Hospital’s onsite parking capacity.

“The new spaces are in addition to the 600 free, onsite public parking spaces which have been available since the completion of the Logan Hospital redevelopment in 2014.

“Once complete, day staff who are currently required to park and be transported by bus to and from the leased offsite car park at Griffith University, will also have the option to park in the new car park, with easy and secure access to the Hospital from the rear of the building.”

Minister for Training and Skills Yvette D’Ath said the initiative to deliver additional parking at the TAFE Loganlea Campus, is a demonstration of the close cooperation of the health and education sector, working together to deliver strong outcomes for the local community.

“This collaboration is part of a long-term development strategy for the Hospital and TAFE sites which will look at innovative solutions to meet the community’s future health, education and training needs,” Mrs D’Ath said.

“This partnership is a sign of good cooperation between different areas of Government in working towards a positive outcome for local residents.”

Member for Waterford Shannon Fentiman said the new car park was great news, particularly for staff, who will benefit from greater access to onsite parking.

“This car park demonstrates our Government’s commitment to our highly valued health professionals who provide world-class healthcare to our growing region each and every day,” she said.

“I know that the ability to park on site is something that has been on the wishlist of many Logan Hospital staff and the broader community for some time, so I’m very happy to see it now has the green light.”

Member for Logan Linus Power said the new carpark would also free up additional patient and visitor parks, with some current onsite staff parking also moving to the new car park site.

“This announcement is fantastic news for patients, visitors and staff of Logan Hospital who will benefit from greater access to onsite parking,” Mr Power said.

“As Logan Hospital continues to expand, we need to ensure that parking doesn’t become an increasingly frustrating exercise for patients, their families and staff.

“I’m pleased that this project will meet the demand for parking into the future and ease parking congestion around the Hospital more generally.”

Logan Hospital Executive Director Dr Jacinta Powell said the commitment to construct a new car park on the underused portions of the adjoining TAFE site delivered a good solution to the Hospital’s parking congestion, as well as pave the way for a future partnership between the health and education precincts.

“This news will be widely welcomed by both staff and the community,” Dr Powell said.

“The opportunity to partner with the TAFE Loganlea Campus on this project will also provide a future opportunity for the integration of the two sites, linking health and education precincts in line with the Meadowbrook Economic Development Strategy and Structure Plan and the Logan City Council’s Meadowbrook Master Plan.

“The new car park will also provide options to accommodate additional parking for any future redevelopment of the Hospital in line with the Logan Hospital Master Plan.”

A public consultation process for the new car park will commence shortly, with construction expected to commence during 2017. The project will deliver 7.5FTE jobs during construction.

ENDS

Media contact:

Michelle Wellington              0437 323 834