With anecdotal stories of visitor frustration and stoushes with security staff, the Tweed Valey Hospital will at long last see more car parking spaces following the appointment of local company, Alder, to undertake works to expand car parking capacity.
The project will deliver 130 new street-level free car parking spaces, boosting the site capacity to more than 1,300 parking spaces, and includes upgrades to existing parking areas such as new signage, line marking, and enhanced parking management systems.
This project follows an extensive operational review into transport and traffic arrangements at the Tweed Valley Hospital, including consultation with emergency services.
This can’t come soon enough for the community who have struggled with finding spaces to park since the facility opened, with one distressed visitor telling The Echo that they were threatened and abused by security staff ‘doing their job’, on they way to visit their parent, mere hours before the parent died.
News spaces on grassed area
Most of the new parking spaces will be created on the grassed area to the south of the existing multi-level car park, which does not accommodate many tall cars or vans, and along Ring Road on the northern boundary of the hospital campus.
Work will be carried out in stages to help minimise disruption to patients, staff and visitors. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
The additional parking is being delivered by Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD), in partnership with Health Infrastructure.
Embraced by the local community
Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park, said the new Tweed Valley Hospital has been embraced by the local community, with activity rising significantly since opening in May 2024. ‘These works will boost capacity on site to more than 1,300 free parking spaces, improving access to the hospital and vital health services for the local community.
‘I’d like to thank all our staff and volunteers at Tweed Valley Hospital as well as the local community for their feedback.’
Minister for the North Coast, Janelle Saffin said the Tweed Valley Hospital is a very busy health facility, with hundreds of staff delivering high-quality healthcare every day to the growing communities of the Tweed-Byron region.
‘We trust this additional free parking will ensure a better experience for patients, their families and carers and of course our wonderful staff, when they go to the hospital.’
Staff and the community will continue to be updated as work progresses.
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