Official documents show a carpark building for the hospital was costed last year at $120m. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
A multi-storey carpark building is a long-term solution to problems at Wellington Hospital, but other options are been considered for now, Te Whatu Ora says.
Staff say a shortage of parking at the hospital and in the crowded neighbourhood forces them into unsafe choices to get to and from work, especially at night
They are also having to pay more at the hospital since parking rates began increasing gradually last year.
Before that, Te Whato Ora said rates had not changed since being introduced, heavily subsidised, in 2014.
Official documents show a carpark building was costed last year at $120m.
"Work to assess the viability of building a carpark building is continuing, with an indicative business case in development," the district health authority told RNZ in a statement.
"However, planning, funding and building a multi-story carpark is a long-term solution."
In the meantime it was looking at other options, including technologies such as a carpooling app, and working with the local and regional councils on "alternative parking arrangements", as well as the public transport improvements.
It was looking at how changes to parking in Newtown and Berhampore agreed by the city council might affect staff, patients and visitors, it said.
The hospital has a 'needs based' policy for assigning hospital parking spaces, rather than first-in-first-served.
