I鈥檓 relatively healthy鈥攌nock on wood鈥攕o hospital parking isn鈥檛 an issue I continually think about.

Four years ago, when I was pregnant with what felt like the biggest baby who ever lived in a human uterus, mind you, it was a major preoccupation. I was regularly going for tests and parking was a surprising pain in my arse, which accentuated the pain in my feet, hips and just about everywhere else.

It wasn鈥檛 cheap, and it continually expired due to waits for medical services.

I never bothered with street parking because, well, there鈥檚 none, is there?

Now, it鈥檚 one thing for a griping, yet healthy, pregnant woman who worked full-time to complain about parking costs, but I couldn鈥檛 help wonder back then; what of those who are chronically ill and therefore unemployed? Or seniors? Or the loved ones of those who are in need of continual hospital care, and are already burdened financially and emotionally by simply being a caregiver.

It struck me that parking fees are simply a nasty user tax on our community鈥檚 most vulnerable.

Sure, one might argue the funds generated by these fees are likely dedicated toward all sorts of good things for patients, like capital projects, research and equipment, but how much of an impact do parking fees actually make? And aren鈥檛 there other ways to generate funds for those things.

Of course, I鈥檓 not the first person to think there should be an effort to reduce or eliminate hospital parking fees. In 2011, in a Canadian Medical Association Journal editorial there was a call for free hospital parking across the country, dubbing them 鈥渦ser fees鈥� and arguing they hurt health care.

Putting the proceeds toward health care runs counter to the Canada Health Act鈥檚 objectives and could become the subject of a legal challenge, wrote Dr. Rajendra Kale, the journal鈥檚 interim editor-in-chief.

鈥淪ome patients (who have often waited several weeks to see a doctor) try to end a consultation abruptly when they realize that they will have to pay for an additional hour for parking,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭his is parking-centred health care, which is not compatible with patient-centred health care.鈥�

Perhaps the focus on 鈥減arking-centred health care鈥� is something the City of 琉璃神社 could look at while they鈥檙e discussing the various ways they can mitigate the hospital鈥檚 overflow parking issues.

The City of 琉璃神社 has, after all, started a conversation with hospital area residents about how to deal with the increasing demand on the public parking in their neighbourhood. And I think that鈥檚 the most logical place to start.

Hospital area residents and visitors are invited to fill in an online survey regarding on-street parking challenges and opportunities in the area.

The short survey can be accessed from May 16 to 27 at getinvolved.kelowna.ca.

The Hospital Area Plan will guide future redevelopment and address parking and transportation needs in the area.