smart city sustainability

Parking Lots at Medical Facilities. Challenges and Needs

The challenge of navigating the maze of parking lots often poses many obstacles. From limited spaces to inadequate signage, the problems of urban parking lots are particularly troublesome when looking for a free spot next to healthcare facilities. While digitization provides promising solutions, it does not fully address all the fundamental problems caused by poor space planning. This article looks at the critical aspects that need to be considered from the earliest stages of designing hospital parking lots so that they can meet the needs of all users.

Parking often presents a remarkable set of challenges that have a significant impact on the comfort and safety of both drivers and pedestrians. Common problems include congestion, limited space availability, and non-transparent signage, leading to increased levels of frustration for those in search of a parking space. The situation is further complicated by the need to provide access for emergency vehicles. To address these challenges, many facilities are implementing advanced digital solutions, and among them–systems operating through the Internet of Things. By integrating technology and well-considered planning strategies, it is possible to improve the way parking lots at institutions such as offices, schools, and medical facilities function on a daily basis. Special consideration should be given to the latter; patients, often struggling with health issues, need quick and easy access to the medical facility without the additional stress associated with finding a parking space.

Among the difficulties associated with parking in cities, the most noteworthy are those encountered when visiting medical facilities. Hospital parking lots are not infrequently characterized by overcrowding, lack of an adequate number of spaces adapted for the disabled, inadequate signage, and high parking fees. Although in parking lots such as the one in the Children's Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw, reservations or subscriptions for spaces can be made through cyfrowyparking.pl/en and the Navipay app, and a self-service kiosk with software for the Medicover facility at GTC Globis Wrocław makes it possible to prevent inappropriate use of parking spaces, digitalization does not solve all the problems experienced by patients every day. Even though it would undoubtedly make it possible to avoid traffic jams forming when exiting a parking lot, find and reserve a space in advance, and pay in a contactless and secure manner, the source of some of the difficulties should be traced back to the planning process of the parking space itself. Let's take a look at aspects that should be considered as early as the design stage of a parking lot that is intended to serve patients, visitors, and facility employees.

➡️ Estimation of space
Too few parking spaces is a problem affecting a significant portion of medical facilities. Estimating the number of spaces needed, which is the responsibility of the manager of a given facility¹, is a step that should be taken at the parking lot planning stage. When a facility has limited space, vertical, multi-story parking structures can be an effective solution. Although it is not among the cheapest ones, it is the most attractive and comfortable for those using medical services. When a private service provider has a chain of facilities in one city, a motorized patient is more likely to choose the one where they know they will find a place to leave their vehicle without difficulty.

The American Institute of Architects² has developed guidelines for designing parking lots at hospitals. As a first step, it recognizes the need to determine total parking demand by estimating the daily number of patients and visitors and considering the needs of employees. Next, it recommends that special space requirements for disabled or emergency vehicles should be identified, and consideration should be given to the demand for parking spaces during peak hours and the possibility of expanding the parking lot if demand increases. It also presents methods for estimating the number of parking spaces needed based on patient admissions and discharges, the number of hospital beds, the average length of hospitalization, visitation policies, and public transportation accessibility. Although fairly universal, these are only suggestions, the application of which, unfortunately, is not common, as parking is rarely given much importance during the modernization of medical facilities.

➡️ Focus on sustainability
An aspect that increases the comfort of using a parking lot, as well as ensures lower maintenance costs, is the consideration of sustainability principles in the design. The use of permeable pavements that do not lead to temperature rise and water accumulation, vegetation, or photovoltaic panels in multi-story parking lots allows to minimize the cost of parking lot lighting. It also makes it possible to reduce costs resulting from the need to cool buildings adjacent to the parking lot, as the lack of asphalt pavement leads to a reduction in the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon.

➡️ Provision of multifunctional space
What is worth paying attention to in terms of the profitability of a parking lot is its use after the facility's business hours. By opening the parking lot to external customers, the payback period for investments such as digitization or construction of a multi-story or underground parking lot is shortened. Shared mobility means of transport–cars, bicycles, and electric scooters that could be used by patients or their caregivers–would help reduce the number of vehicles circulating in search of a space. Implementing dynamic pricing strategies could help further increase revenue, and integrating advanced reservation systems could improve user convenience and maximize utilization rates.

➡️ Emphasis on availability
The most important feature of parking lots at health facilities should be their accessibility. What lies behind this general term? First and foremost, the goal is for each patient to find a place to leave their vehicle without any difficulty. They should find a place, get from it to the desired part of the building, and, leaving the facility, smoothly pay for parking. This property requires the establishment of a sufficient number of spaces for disabled persons and pregnant women, as well as their appropriate location. Accessibility is also enhanced by elevators, ramps, and handrails in appropriate areas, in addition to Braille signage. Drawing parking spaces at an angle of 45 or 60 degrees to the roadway edge further facilitates and speeds up the parking process.

➡️ Guarantee of safety
A parking lot owned by a medical facility should display a high level of security. This is to be ensured not only by 24-hour monitoring but also by proper lighting and signage. Poorly marked one‑way lanes can cause obstructions in the flow of traffic as vehicles drive in the wrong direction or reverse into parking spaces. Patient safety, and at the same time the aforementioned accessibility of the parking lot, is also directly affected by the condition of the pavement, which should be kept clean and, in key areas, also be slip-resistant. The elderly, people with mobility difficulties, and patients in wheelchairs will not be able to negotiate the sandy road leading uphill.

➡️ Care of visual appeal
The final element to consider when planning parking lots is their aesthetic appeal. The well-being of the motorized, as well as the carbon footprint of a facility and the cost of maintaining a parking lot, is affected by the amount of greenery adapted into a hospital landscape. Combining parking structures with vegetation not only helps fulfill sustainability goals but also improves the mood of visitors and the overall impression of parking in the area. Greenery filters pollutants, improving air quality, and also reduces noise without increasing temperatures³.

The need to organize parking at medical facilities in a thoughtful and non-accidental way is emphasized by David Hilscher (2019)⁴, noting that while the growing popularity of public transportation and ride‑sharing will be reflected by a gradual reduction in the number of parking spaces, hospital parking lots will remain one of the areas where limiting the number of spaces will not be the most important goal. The author draws attention to the need to create spots that meet diverse needs, allowing both longer parking in case of a hospital stay lasting several days and picking up a patient by the entrance to the building. Loading bays should not impede the flow of traffic, and smooth and fast passage should be possible not only for ambulances but also for fire department or roadside assistance vehicles. Although responsible modernization of hospital parking lots requires consideration of many factors, the most important step, however, is to take the first measures to meet the diverse needs of patients, visitors, and staff.

The design of hospital parking lots should be considered as one of the key elements in the modernization of healthcare infrastructure. Parking lots in medical centers should be made a focal point of discussions and actions taken as part of increasing accessibility and inclusiveness, spreading technology, and reducing the carbon footprint and human impact on the environment. By meeting the technical requirements and overcoming the diverse challenges of parking in the city, we can make hospital parking lots responsive to the needs of all their users, and thus–contribute to improving the overall healthcare experience.

¹ Rędziak, B. (2015). Parkowanie przy szpitalach. Kto decyduje o zasadach? https://niepelnosprawni.pl/ledge/x/275134. [access 23.09.2024]
² Singh, M. M. (2024). How to Calculate Parking Space Requirements in Hospitals? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381374913. [access 30.09.2024]
³ Semeraro, T., Scarano, A., Buccolieri, R., Santino, A., & Aarrevaara, E. (2021). Planning of urban green spaces: An ecological perspective on human benefits. Land, 10(2), 105.
⁴ Hilscher, D. (2019). Hospital Parking Management. Important principles of parking design in health care. https://www.reliance‑foundry.com/blog/hospital-parking-management?srsltid=AfmBOoqClr3zsxzT6uZm3g87D2fGc26bYI5ikGB6rTZ16K5A4VDKn_Vu. [access 30.09.2024]

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