CALGARY – Staff at Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre will soon be required to park off-site and take a shuttle bus to work, as construction begins on the city’s new cancer centre. Alberta Health Services says construction will force the closure of two major parking lots on site, including the main parkade directly in front of the hospital, which is currently used by staff, patients and visitors.
“Lot 1, the main parking area for patients and the public, will no longer be in use while a replacement lot is being built,” according to an emailed statement from Alberta Health Services. “Lot 7, a parking lot now used mainly by staff, will be closed when construction for the cancer centre begins.”
The parking lot closures meant AHS needed to find 1,200 temporary parking spaces for a three-year period starting summer 2016. After considering several options in northwest Calgary, AHS says a location near the Alberta Children’s Hospital on the University of Calgary’s west campus was selected.
“Patients and the public will continue to park on site (at Foothills), however displaced staff will need temporary parking to minimize the disruption.”
AHS says it will provide shuttle service and security at the temporary parking lot. A new, larger parkade will be bulit on the current Lot 1 site. It will have approximately 2,000 parking stalls, replacing the parking spaces that will be lost once Lot 7 is eliminated. The new Lot 1 parkade is expected to open in 2019.
AHS says it plans to follow the below timeline for the parking plan changes.
2016:
- AHS to close the 1,200 stall Lot 1 parkade
2017:
- AHS to close the 830 stall parking Lot 7 for construction of the new cancer centre
- AHS to open a minimum of 830 stalls in first phase of the new Lot 1 parkade
2019:
- AHS to complete second phase of new Lot 1 parkade, adding 1,200 stalls
In October, the province announced Calgary’s long-awaited cancer centre would be built on the current Lot 7 site at the Foothills Medical Centre with construction scheduled to begin in 2017. At the time, the government said it hoped the one-stop treatment centre would be ready to serve patients sometime in 2020.
READ MORE: Construction on Calgary cancer centre to begin in 2017
A public meeting will be held Thursday, Jan. 14 to provide specific details about the new temporary parking lot to community residents. The open house runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the basement of the Foothills Mennonite Church at 2115 Urbana Road N.W. AHS is planning a separate open house for staff.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the time of the open house for community residents.
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