Discussions

When did it start to cost two bucks for ten minutes of parking in the gated lot? I thought it was a dollar or less for less than an hour.

Not sure how long exactly, but at least for a few years it’s been $2.

Was just there, $2 bucks first hour and I believe $1 per hour after.  
SO if you only need 15 minutes use a meter.

The cost is $2.00 for the first hour, $1.00 for each hour after that to a maximum of $12.00 per 24 hours. Lost tickets are now $12.00. There is a 20 minute window for you to exit the lot once your ticket is paid, which also allows a person 20 minutes from the time they get a ticket to exit the lot at no cost. This has been set up accordingly should you not find a spot to park, it won't cost you to exit as long as you leave before your 20 minutes are up. There is also a new indoor pay station that allows visitors to pay indoors using either cash, credit or debit. The old out door pay station is currently accepting cash only, with debit and credit capabilities planned for in the near future.

The cost to park is definitely more than $2 for first hour and $1 for each hour after that - that would equal 4 hours to reach a $5 charge, correct? I have paid $5 each of the last 3 days and have been at the hospital for a much shorter time than 4 hours each time, probably averaging between 2.5-3 hours each time. A family member works in the area of the hospital and says the rates to park in the hospital lot have risen dramatically compared to what they used to be. Guess they are trying to catch up to the ridiculous rates charged to park at hospitals and clinics in Winnipeg.

 
 
Edited by Big Daddy D, 2019-02-14 19:34:40

Did you speak to the front desk about your parking fee? If you paid what you say you did, get a receipt and take the ticket with the receipt to the security at the front desk to prove to them it's not working properly before using your ticket to get out of the lot. I'm not sure why you wouldn't have spoken to them if you're telling the truth considering you're out money that should be yours. As for the rate increase, first time increased in over 12 years, still nowhere near Winnipeg rates. If you don't like it, don't park there. It's just that simple.

"Guess they are trying to catch up to the ridiculous rates charged to park at hospitals and clinics in Winnipeg. "  
 
And isn't that the truth.  
 
It's not like we didn't pay to build the place.  
 
Edited by plane watcher, 2019-02-14 19:38:12

It's unfortunate that your opinion gets in the way of your business savvy. If you really think you paid to build that place you are dead wrong. Did you even stop and think of how many properties the hospital had to purchase to build that parking lot? A whole city block of houses that used to be there! They would have had to purchase them at fair market value then and are probably still paying for it today.

No, I did not speak to the front desk about my parking fee - it came up on the screen as $5 so I paid it. Don't really know why you are implying that I might not be telling the truth...I know what I paid and that amount was $5...3 times. Not parking in the lot is not really an option for me as physically I'm unable to walk from a parking spot on the street or the far end of the parking lot...it's just that simple...but thanks for the suggestion

Prices have doubled since they put in the new indoor pay station. Coincidence? Likely not. Might as well gouge sick people like other hospitals across the country. It used to be reasonable. 1.50 for 1st hour. 50 cents for each extra hour. Max daily price was $6. Boo

They can't fix it if no one tells them it's broken.

You might want to get your facts straight because it was $1.00 for the first hour. Ever think that they could be trying to weed out staff who were paying the cheap rate to park there, taking up spaces that visitors need to use for attending their tests/blood work/procedures. If you think this is gouging try going to the big centres in Winnipeg, Calgary, or Toronto then talk to me about gouging. This is still reasonable.

Sorry was out by 50cents. It doubled.

Grandmama...I am thinking it is $2 for the first hour, and then $1 for each hour or portion thereof after that. I haven't parked there for a long time, so am going by what is on this thread.  
First hour = $2  
61-120mins more = $1  
121-180mins more = $1  
181-240mins more = $1  
So if you parked for 3 hours plus a few minutes over, that would be $5 total.

It’s ridiculous for patients in the hospital or going to dyalisis or cancer care to have to pay. Visitors I get but it’s expensive enough having an illness.  
Plus side ..keep your parking receipts if you travel for appts or treatments they are able to be used at tax time ( dates of appts and receipt dates must match) but someone travelling more than 25kms ( I think it may be a bit more) on a regular basis could benefit from having them.  
 
Same as for travelling in you can claim the mileage if you use your own car or if you pay someone handy van as an example it’s claimable as well. You just need the receipts and a tally from the office for the year on the dates you were in.

That is where we keep going wrong with increases. "Nowhere near Winnipeg rates." Why do we need to compare to Winnipeg rates? Society always seems to compare with somewhere else to justify the cost. Landfill fees are higher elsewhere....be lucky we are not there. School division.....lowest cost per student in the province. I don't care what someone else is paying.  
 
For that parking lot has been bought and paid for long ago with building of the hospital. The cost of parking should cover land taxes, insurance, maintenance, and have a limited reserve for upkeep projects. (Paving/painting new lines/etc.)

The Brandon Clinic also has recently increased parking costs with their new system. I think it's the same now as the hospital.  
 
The convenience of parking close to the hospital costs money. I personally find the cost to be quite reasonable, and if the weather is nice and/or I don't feel like paying it I park a few blocks away and walk. I will also park elsewhere if it's just me and/or a few able-bodied kids to leave space for those who maybe are mobility impaired.  
 
Is Winnipeg more expensive? Yes. I also walk much, much further there. The last time our daughter had an appointment at HSC it cost us $12 for just over an hour at Sherbrook parkade. Here it's $12 for the day. Parking on the street is very expensive there too.  
 
And I think it's valid to compare it to Winnipeg, as many of us do travel to Winnipeg for medical treatment. We often like to compare ourselves to Winnipeg for a lot of other things despite it being 20x the size of Brandon.

So now it was 3 hours plus a few minutes, not the 2.5 to 3 hours like you originally stated. The math is correct.

I'm not sure how you think that the lot was paid for when the hospital was being built. Money for the structure/building comes from the government. Land is not normally part of those kinds of deals. The lands surrounding hospitals has to be purchased when developments are planned. I'm almost positive you have no idea how much the things you mentioned cost for such a facility. Snow removal runs into the tens of thousands and paving can run into hundreds of thousands. The lot structure construction would be covered under the original building of the hospital with the money from the government.

Well didn't you say the lot construction would be covered under the original building of the hospital? That is what I said. So the lot is paid for already. It is now upkeep. I understand snow clearing and such costs money. I have a larger area to clean and by the hour cleaning I am at $1000 a clearing. Theirs would be a tender for doing walks and everything. Each parking spot based on a 12 hour day per year could yield over $4000 per year could it not? There is roughly 170 spots I think without the doctor parking area. We are talking about $700,000 in revenue a year. Even lowballing it at $500,000 a year you don't think that would cover lot cleaning, equipment maintenance, taxes, and budget for future upkeep? Looking at the city taxes for that lot it totals just under $11,000.

Best they recoup some coin lot clearing,staff and maintenance and sweeping and picking up debris.otherwise they would find various ways to get it out of health car.a few was around is cab bus or footmobile. I wish they had parking credits for inside patience.visitors usually have options.

I love your logic that "the hospital" covered the costs buying properties, or "the government" did. Where did that money come from?? TAXPAYERS, so, all taxpayers have contributed to build the parking lot that they / we now pay for the privilege of using.  
I don't too much mind that the cost has increased: what I have a problem with is that meters all around the hospital are 24 HR meters. Now, that's a cash grab IMHO.

Been $2.00 for a few years....I moved here 9 years ago & go every year for mammograms & it has only cost me $1.00. I just went for tests a couple of weeks ago & paid $2.00 as well. I think it’s terrible that the hospital is even charging people that have to go for tests. Even people visiting loved ones hospitalized having to pay that on a daily basis by the hour could get very costly to someone that probably can’t afford to pay to visit.

You continue to insist that I am not telling the truth, either about the amount I paid or the amount of time I was at the hospital...I know how long I was at the hospital and it was 2.5 - 3 hours like I originally stated. Keep the posts straight...it was CurlySister who listed the rates and SUGGESTED perhaps I stayed a few minutes past the 3 hours. Today I was at the hospital for just over an hour and paid only $2 when I should have paid $3 according to the rates posted - go figure! Guess that makes up for one of the days when I paid $5 lol  
 
Edited by Grandmama, 2019-02-15 19:44:19

People are allowed to park in the drop off zone for a period of ti.e-10 or 15 minutes of they are picking up or dropping off patients. I have done it myself-park, unload the patient, wheel him into the hospital and up to whatever floor, talk to the staff there, and get back down to the car. That can easily be 15 minutes. Same with picking up. Your guy on the phone may have been waiting for a patient to be brought down. Day surgery will tell family member to go down and get the car and park there and they bring the patient-and sometimes you bring the car around...and wait. The dirty looks you get while waiting, well, you just have to ignore them. There have been times I have wished the person glaring at me would say something-cuz then i could give that person an earful.

I have used hospital parking lots with my family for quite a few years. Brandon parking fees are cheap compared with some. I have been sitting in the emergency room with my mother-in-law and then my husband since 2007 and the first hour payment has been pretty much since then. It's worth it to not have to travel around the block 4 or 5 turns looking for a parking.

I put together a buzz post that’s attached to this thread that I’m hoping speaks to some questions that have shown up in posts.  
 
The new rates as of just over a month ago are $2 for first hour, $1 per hour after that to a daily max of $12. Before that they’d been $1 per hour, 50 cents per half hour, daily max of $6  
 
I did do a little digging and seemed to find that paying $2 for the first hour is in the ballpark of what hospitals on the prairies charge. Maybe there’s an exception someone else could find but I actually didn’t find one that charged less. Most charge per half hour which benefits short stop-ins, but then none I could find did a reduced rate for hours after the first hour.  
 
Edited by Adam, 2019-02-23 10:04:48