“The fact that a few patients, providers and visitors had challenges getting to the health centre as a result of traffic is a definite concern,” said Peter MacKinnon, CEO of the Colchester East Hants Health Centre (CEHHA), in a news release issued Friday afternoon.
“For us this was about connecting with our partners to ensure that the health centre is always accessible to those who need to get here.”
MacKinnon’s comments came after representatives from the authority, the RECC, Truro Police Service and the Town of Truro met this week to try to resolve future parking issues.
Changes put into effect moving forward and for Friday’s Maritime Junior Hockey League contest between the Truro Bearcats and the Woodstock Slammers include:
* Reducing traffic turning onto Abenaki Road via the McClure’s Mills Intersection
- The doors at the RECC will open earlier for large events to allow visitors to arrive over an extended period. For the Bearcats Friday game, the doors were to be open during regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
* Enhanced traffic control
- Fans leaving the RECC from the upper parking lot will only be permitted to turn right on Abenaki Road, rather than having everyone using the McClure’s Mills Road intersection.
- Vehicles will be gradually allowed to exit the lot to avoid congestion on Abenaki Road and McClure’s Mills Road.
- Truro Police Service officers will also be positioned at the intersection o fMcClure’s Mills Road and Abenaki Road).
- Police officers will be positioned at the crosswalk between the RECC and health centre to direct and control pedestrian traffic, as opposed to a constant flow of pedestrians which creates safety concerns and impedes traffic.
* Enhancing public notification to ensure awareness of events and suggested routes for accessing both sites.
* Communicating options for accessing the health centre site to staff and physicians, including those on-call for emergency response.
In addition to these short-term solutions the need for on-going reviews and debriefings following RECC events was also agreed upon as opportunities to identify additional strategies and potential longer-range improvements.
While paid parking was not yet in place at the health centre during last week’s hockey games, paid parking did come into effect on Monday morning at a cost of $2 for the first hour of parking and $1 for each additional hour up to a maximum charge of $5 per visit.
Those who choose to park at the health centre will be required to take a ticket when entering the lot and after 8 p.m. will only be able to pay with credit cards when leaving the lot. Cash will not be accepted at these gates.
Efforts will also be made by the health authority during such events to reserve 30 to 50 spaces specifically for visitors to the health centre and to maintain parking for staff and physicians. Several security commissionaires will be on site to direct traffic and parking. No overflow parking will be allowed in the Emergency Parking lot.
I imagine you would speak to a security commissionaire. It's possible they could arrange for an alternate method of payment. The machines located inside the hospital allow for cash, debit & credit. For security reasons they don't accept cash at the gate, but I'm not sure why debit isn't.