Halifax hospitals short nearly 4,000 parking spots to meet peak demand

Carolyn Ray · CBC News

· Posted: May 15, 2025 4:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago

New numbers from Nova Scotia Health uncover that it needs astir 4,000 much parking spaces than presently beryllium to grip the request astatine the biggest health-care facilities successful Halifax.

For months, a deficiency of parking has been a large constituent of contention astatine the Halifax Infirmary, Victoria General and IWK Health Centre.

Those frustrations grew aft the authorities lifted parking fees crossed the province, starring to much visitors astatine infirmary lots and pushing unit disconnected site.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson addressed the contention Thursday, saying that hospitals are going done "growing pains" arsenic they set to the caller escaped parking program.

"I deliberation radical tin expect to spot tweaks to the program. We privation radical to beryllium happy. This is simply a bully quality story. We'll get there. There are bumps," Thompson said arsenic reporters pressed her connected unit concerns.

Staff person refused to talk publicly, fearing repercussions astatine work, but they've been venting their frustrations to their unions, absorption leaders and CBC News.

They're not allowed to parkland successful the main tons during highest hours, and are told to either usage off-site tons oregon alternatives to get to enactment arsenic a mode to supply much spaces to patients and their visitors.

If they parkland astatine the hospitals, they're charged $6 an hour, oregon astir $72 for their 12-hour shifts.

Available spots are limited

New numbers obtained by CBC News amusement conscionable however competitory it is to find a spot.

Nova Scotia Health said it has 2,365 parking spots astatine the Victoria General, Halifax Infirmary and off-site lots. It estimates astatine highest times, it needs 6,220 spots for the staff, volunteers and patients who thrust to the facilities.

That leaves 3,855 radical trying to find different places to parkland successful the city's downtown, which is already busy.

Those numbers don't see the needs of the adjacent IWK Health Centre, and were calculated earlier parking became escaped and request increased.

"What we request to bash is onslaught a equilibrium betwixt allocation for patients and allocation for unit and marque definite that we person the close mix," said Thompson. "There volition beryllium much things to recognize arsenic we determination forward."

She said for now, they request to instrumentality a adjacent look astatine the logistics of the tons and spot what the existent request is.

"There's surely been a spotlight connected it," she said. "I deliberation we request to spell done these increasing pains and I person assurance they'll beryllium worked out."

Members of the province's absorption parties said they don't understand wherefore the enactment hasn't already been done.

Liberal MLA Derek Mombourquette said the authorities should person foreseen the problems.

"We're proceeding ... from nurses and aesculapian professionals that close present it's a disaster," helium said.

NDP MLA Susan LeBlanc echoed Mombourquette's disbelief.

"It's beyond maine wherefore this thought of escaped parking astatine hospitals couldn't person been figured retired earlier it was played out. But frankly no, it's not working," she said.

The wellness authorization said it is moving connected solutions and expects to denote immoderate changes to the programme soon.