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End of all-day parking near Queen Elizabeth II Hospital causes upset in City of Subiaco

Jon BassettWestern Suburbs Weekly

CANCER patients, nurses and families visiting sick relatives will be stopped from all-day parking in two Subiaco streets near Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Hospital.

City of Subiaco councillor Scott Arbuckle labelled previous State governments’ parking planning and budget cutbacks for car bays at QEII as “a disaster” that caused health staff and the public to put their vehicles in adjacent Violet and Hilda streets.

“We have hospital staff clogging the streets, and that’s not going to finish,” Cr Arbuckle said at last night’s Subiaco council meeting.

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“The citizens of Subiaco are not going to put up with bad government planning, and it’s time we gave back those streets to residents.”

Complicating matters, the hospital is no longer in the City of Subiaco after council border changes by the former State government put it in the City of Perth last year.

A parking ban in the streets, and the introduction of ratepayer and visitor permits, was requested by residents at last year’s City of Subiaco electors’ meeting.

The request followed lobbying by others for almost seven years.

Last night, resident Helen Leeder said former State government ministers had said if the council would not help, residents “can just put up with congested streets”.

Other residents were concerned those having daily cancer treatment would have to pay the hospital’s high parking fees.

A staff report said permits in the two streets would be part of any solution, including some bays left for local shops and users of nearby Rosalie Park on weekends.

However, some residents and councillors were concerned any ban could adversely affect the most ill who sought daily cancer treatment at QEII, and families who could not afford the parking at the hospital.

Cr Julie Matheson said cancer treatment patients had to be considered, as well as families having to pay $10 daily to visit QEII patients.

A suggested alternative was regular ranger patrols to keep streets clear for residents and bays available for other users in nearby Hilda Street.

“For now, singularly maintaining the high level of enforcement is enough,” Cr Lee Hemsley said.

Councillors agreed that between 8am and 6pm, parking permits would be needed on the east sides of Violet and Hilda streets during each day, and the west sides would have two-hour limits.

The council will also seek union support to have the State Government drop the cost of parking for hospital staff.

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