Hospital in an ocean of cars? That’s not healthy
Christopher Shaw
Founder of Medical Architecture (now retired) and past Chair of Architects for Health
At the Olympic Park in London yesterday, I noticed these motorised dock-less scooters which are everywhere in the States but new here. It got me thinking.
Anyone engaged in master planning hospitals will be familiar with the problem. Demand for car parking is huge and growing. It’s the single most time-consuming matter for hospital facility managers. In many, cars occupy more valuable land than the hospital itself.
And why not? The new generation of hospitals can generate up to 35,000 journeys per day. Hospital staff need to get to work and attracting the best people means providing parking. Patients and visitors need to get to clinics and wards easily. Emergency teams need ambulances. The need for parking is irresistible and just as staffing of hospitals has grown, the car-parking required has ballooned.
The response is acres of tarmac, expensive decked garages paid for by unpopular parking charges and in some instances new public transit systems. Some have adopted an airport-like park and ride arrangement. But the demand keeps growing and private car sales have been booming.
In an age where poor air quality, obesity and diabetes are threatening to overwhelm health systems, we are planning hospital infrastructure that adds to the problem. That’s not healthy.
Club cars, dock-less bikes and scooters, taxi and travel-share apps are all here now. Self-driving vehicles are on the horizon. All that parking space might be empty. We could start planning for a better, healthier alternative.
#nhs #healthcare #hospital #transport #cars #architecture #design