Manitoba Clinic parkade raises rates overnight to balance construction costs

WINNIPEG — A parking lot used by thousands of Manitoba hospital-goers and cancer patients has raised its rates by 25 per cent overnight.

The lot is located right across the street from the Manitoba Clinic, on the corner of Sherbrook Street and Notre Dame. It used to cost three dollars an hour to use the parking lot. As of Monday the rate increased to $3.75 an hour.

Manitoba Clinic said it raised the rate at the parking lot it operates because money is needed to pay for construction of more parking stalls. The hike is needed especially if hospital goers want to avoid parking further away from CancerCare Manitoba and the Manitoba Clinic.

RELATED: Winnipeggers questioning why hospital parking can’t be like casino parking: free

The clinic initially had a minimum rate of five dollars for two hours, then first introduced the three dollars an hour rate on July 1. After crunching numbers, officials said it needed to increase by $.75 this week.

“We try to be competitive with our rates, which must be balanced against having construction loans, operating expenses and taxes that have to be paid,” said an official spokesperson with Manitoba Clinic.

“I’m a fabricator, so I understand the cost of materials and the cost of labour. It’s all going up. So, it has to cover somehow,” said one hospital-goer.

Although the increased rate was needed to cover infrastructure costs, there wasn’t any notice about the spike in parking fees.

“A notice would have been nice,” said Colleen Mann. “This morning as my husband was getting ready for work, we were scrounging in our pockets to make sure we had change.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "A notice would have been nice," said Colleen Mann. "This morning as my husband was getting ready for work, we were scrounging in our pockets to make sure we had change."

Mann said she frequents the clinic, as her son needed blood work for an upcoming heart surgery.

“It is an inconvenience. I wish the needs of families who are coming for multiple appointments would be taken into account. Maybe there are more alternatives that don’t make it so much of a burden to the every day family,” she said.

Mann added she would love to see a hospital parking price freeze, which was just implemented in Ontario earlier this year.

RELATED: Ontario hospitals ordered to freeze parking rates and offer multi-day discounts

While this particular parking lot doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, WRHA said in response to the hospital parking it does cover, government funding doesn’t cover parking lot maintenance and that revenue from parking lot payments goes directly back in to services or parking infrastructure.