The University of Coimbra Hospitals will start offering paid parking for users from October 2024. The president of the Local Health Unit (ULS) said this Tuesday that this step was taken as part of a mobility plan that provides for 1,200 more parking spaces.
The ULS of Coimbra estimates that by the end of October, parking at the Coimbra University Hospitals (CHUC) will be paid for by users. However, the employees will be able to access it without paying until the end of 2025.
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Alexandre Lourenço told the media that by the end of 2025 the Mondego Mobility System (SMM) is fully operational. He revealed that at that point parking for employees will also end up being free with the possibility of paying for a subscription.
He pointed out that this is the last major hospital institution offering free parking. Additionally, he highlighted that parking at HUC is currently free but it is a mess and unregulated.
Parking Expansion Plan
The mobility plan of the ULS of Coimbra projects an increase of approximately 1,600 parking spaces, covering the HUC, Pediatric, Cell Block, and Covões. The total parking capacity will expand from around 3,200 to 4,800 spaces, with the HUC seeing the largest increase, nearly doubling its capacity from 1,592 to 2,856 spaces, according to the entity’s president.
According to Alexandre Lourenço, technically, there should be five parking spaces for each bed at the HUC. However, there are around a thousand beds in the hospital highlighting that, even with this plan, there will be around three spaces for each bed.
He said that:
There is a huge constraint in the way people move to the Coimbra University Hospitals.
Additionally, he pointed out that the construction of the new maternity ward on an existing car park with 400 spaces would make the parking situation even more chaotic.
Although they plan a substantial increase in parking, they will use removable metal structures. The advantage of these structures is that they can be expanded or removed as needed, depending on changes in public transport usage and the mobility patterns of users and employees.
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The installation of these metal structures will happen relatively quickly, with the Hospitals Common Use Service partnering in the process. The person in charge told the media that they would handle the investment, which would be self-financed through parking fees.
Coimbra University Hospital Parking Plan: Long-term Mobility Goals
Alexandre Lourenço, who travels to the hospital by electric bicycle, has set himself the goal of having one in four workers use soft mobility or public transport by 2030. The president of the ULS of Coimbra believes that the launch of the Mondego Metro could drive this change.
Moreover, as part of the plan, there are also plans to improve and increase parking capacity for bicycles and scooters. To reduce traffic and car flow in hospitals, the ULS of Coimbra also intends to reduce the number of trips to hospitals by users.
They aim to achieve this by investing in telehealth and telemonitoring. Additionally, they will concentrate on multiple consultations on the same day.
Interventions and Future Plans
Lourenço further revealed that the mobility plan also includes intervention on sidewalks in order to combat abusive and illegal parking. Initially, three removable car parks will be created and an existing car park will be rearranged.
One will be located where the Casa do Pessoal sports field is now, with plans to relocate the sports field to another spot on the hospital campus. Another car park will be situated next to the entrance on Rua Afonso Romão, and a third will be near the main entrance.
Alexandre Lourenço also mentioned that two other car parks are planned, but they depend on the evolution of demand and needs. Moreover, he predicts that the new metal structures will be completed progressively throughout 2025.
