A Grand Forks city councillor says something needs to be done to improve the “ludicrous” parking situation at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail.
Christine Thompson asked mayor Everett Baker, who chairs the West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District board, to bring the matter up with that body.
“It’s absolutely ludicrous that, particularly seniors, have to walk uphill if they can’t find a good place to park to get into the hospital,” Thompson said this week.
She suggested a parkade be built, allowing easier access to the hospital.
Baker said he experienced the issue firsthand when he had surgery at the hospital just before Christmas.
Interior Health previously told us it has tried to improve the parking situation in recent years by repainting lines to allow for more vehicles, increasing the number of accessible stalls, and increasing the number of stalls designated for seniors and expectant mothers.
But the MRI expansion project, expected to begin next year, will require 14 stalls. Once the project is finished, up to 39 new stalls will be added, and gravel sections at the far end of the parking lot will be paved. However, the MRI project isn’t scheduled to be complete until the summer of 2028.
Interior Health encourages using public transit or asking someone to drop you off and pick you up from the hospital, so you don’t have to park at all.
Parking at the hospital in Trail is free, unlike several other Interior Health facilities.
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