NHS Tayside is researching park-and-ride options as part of a possible solution to ongoing issues at Ninewells Hospital’s car park.
However, the board admitted it did not have an “immediate solution” to the problems.
Nearby residents have repeatedly complained of their street becoming an “overflow car park” due to lack of capacity at the hospital’s grounds, while staff said they struggled to find a space or could not afford the parking permits.
Following concerns raised by North East Conservative MSP Bill Bowman, chief operating officer Lorna Wiggin responded with assurances the board seeks to “manage available car parking as well as possible”.
This includes the possibility of a park and ride facility being set up in the future but no short-term solution has been proposed.
Indigo Park Services Limited, the company which operates the car park, is still silent on whether parking charges will be raised this November.
Mr Bowman said: “Doing nothing is not an option.
“Much has been made of a travel plan to reduce the number of car journeys taken to and from the hospital.
“As more and more services come to Dundee, for example acute adult admissions in mental health from Angus, I would suggest that this is optimistic.”
West End councillor Fraser Macpherson said he would welcome a park-and-ride facility as a “long-term” solution.
He called on NHS Tayside bosses to confirm a date for an urgent meeting regarding shorter-term action.
Councillor Macpherson said: “There are two main issues – the cost of parking and the increase in visitors due to a lot of services being centralised, which has created capacity problems.
“People are waiting for as much as half an hour to get into the overflow car park.
“I would certainly be open to the idea of a park-and-ride facility, as long as it does not have a negative impact on the local environment.
“That is more of a long-term solution though – what we need is short-term action, as soon as possible.”
Ms Wiggin’s letter stated that colleagues within NHS Tayside had been tasked with researching how other health boards manage park-and-ride facilities, and the potential implications for implementing such a scheme.
The letter added: “We acknowledge that this does not present an immediate solution to the difficulties that can be experienced, but give you our assurance that we seek to manage available car parking as well as possible and with appropriate expertise.
“NHS Tayside is continuing to engage and work with Indigo, the local authority, travel planning and public transport organisations to ensure all options are explored to address the issues.
“The travel plan includes actions to enable and encourage access to the site by public transport, walking and cycling; increased use of these choices reduces demand for parking at lower cost than providing more parking spaces.”
