DRI parking: Hospital chiefs in fresh warning over "dangerous" drivers

Hospital chiefs say they will consider bringing in fines if people don’t respect people living in the area.

The latest row over parking at the Armthorpe Road site comes after several incidents last year where drivers abandoned their cars on the central reservation outside the hospital – and ended up being ticketed.

A spokesman for Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hopsitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We wish to politely remind patients, visitors and colleagues that if you park on the residential streets surrounding Doncaster Royal Infirmary, to please be considerate of our neighbours and their access to and from their homes.

"We have received a number of complaints from our neighbours regarding incidents where cars have been parked in front of their drive or pull in area, blocking their vehicle and obstructing their view to pull out, which is unacceptable, dangerous and may lead to real harm.

"Overhanging H bar markings is a common occurrence, particularly on neighbouring roads such as Hillcrest Road, Imperial Crescent, Osborne Road, Zetland Road and others.

"If this continues, it could lead to further action, such as a parking charge notice or further re-zoning of the area.

"We understand that car park capacity at Doncaster Royal Infirmary isn’t perfect, and as such we operate a Park and Ride facility just off Leger Way, with our partners at Doncaster Racecourse.“Here there are always ample spaces, and a shuttle which runs 5.50am to 10pm Monday to Friday.

"Save yourself the hassle of finding a space on the road – use this facility when you visit the hospital – and if you fancy a walk it’ll take you about 15 minutes.

"Please be respectful to our neighbours when parking near the hospital site.

In January last year, drivers were threatened with fines for leaving their cars on the grass strip that separates the two sides of Armthorpe Road outside the hospital.

While admitting parking was a serious issue for patients and staff, a spokesman for Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said that anyone flouting the rules would be fined by Doncaster Council’s parking team.

The hospital has 900 spaces to serve around 3,000 members of staff and between 1,000 to 3,000 patients daily.

The spokesman added: “The hospital was built in 1930 with the demands of that decade’s activity in mind - nearly 100 years later we are using the same front print.

“We don’t have the space on site to create more car parking areas. We are land locked and surrounded by residential areas.

“As we are within a residential area, creating a multistorey would be very tricky - given the demand it would have to be as tall as the East Ward block and even then it probably wouldn’t offer every visitor a car parking space.

"The space is an issue, planning permission difficult and budget even trickier. Unfortunately it’s a non-starter.”

There are a number of spaces within the hospital grounds, as well as parking spaces along Armthorpe Road and Thorne Road.