DISABLED drivers and their carers have raised a storm across social media over signs at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) claiming that holders of the disabled person’s parking card, known as the ‘blue badge’, will now have to pay for parking at the hospital.
However, a spokesman for the hospital told the Limerick Post it’s all a mistake.
Asked about the signs, which appeared recently in the hospital car park and indicated that holders of the parking pass issued to disabled drivers would have to pay for parking from February 29, a spokesman said that UHL “can confirm that the signage in question was erected in error and has since been removed”.
“We have no plans at present to introduce or change parking charges for any of our service users at UHL. This is in the context of a new parking management plan to be developed for UHL to factor in ongoing and planned building works as we add much-needed bed capacity.
“We are committed to making our services accessible to people with disabilities and we have in recent years increased to 28 the number of disabled parking spaces at UHL.
“Most of these spaces are now located in our underground car park to afford ease of access to elevators and to minimise any impact of bad weather on service users with mobility issues”.
The spokesman outlined that demand for parking at UHL has increased significantly in recent years.
“At present, approximately 1,000 car parking spaces are provided for staff and members of the public. This includes two off-site staff parking locations served by a daily park-and-ride bus service,” he said.
“Car-pooling for staff and improved infrastructure to facilitate cycling and more sustainable modes of travel have also been developed in recent years in line with our obligations as a public sector organisation under the government’s climate action plan. Parking management and provision at UHL are regularly reviewed in line with demand on our services and our statutory obligations”.
