Frontline health workers in Hobart to get free parking with other parking restrictions also relaxed

UPDATE: The Hobart City Council will offer free parking to hospital staff working directly with COVID-19 patients with other city parking restrictions being eased.

Frontline hospital staff will be offered free parking in the Argyle St carpark from Friday.

UPDATED: HOSPITAL staff working directly with COVID-19 patients will receive free parking in the Argyle St car park.

There had been some confusion among Royal Hobart Hospital and Hobart Private Hospital frontline health staff about who was eligible for the free parking on offer by the Hobart City Council.

General manager Nick Heath said it was the hospitals’ decision who would receive the spaces with 100 allocated at this stage.

“Lists of approved hospital staff are being provided by the hospital to car park staff,” he said.

Staff will be required to show their employee identification at the ground floor cashier’s office.

The Hobart City Council is also looking at making arrangements to make parking available at the Argyle St complex 24-hour a day.

EARLIER: ROYAL Hobart Hospital and Hobart Private Hospital frontline workers will be able to access free parking from Friday while other parking restrictions will also be relaxed.

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said free parking would be offered in the Argyle St carpark to Royal Hobart Hospital and Hobart Private Hospital health workers.

Staff will be required to show their employee identification at the ground floor cashier’s office.

The Hobart City Council is also looking at making arrangements to make parking available at the Argyle St complex 24 hours a day.

General manager Nick Heath said the council would scale down parking enforcement in some circumstances.

“With lower demand on parking, we are able to ease time limits on some regulated parking,” he said.

From Friday, in areas where the signposted time limit is one or two hours, motorists can park for up to twice that time without getting fined so long as they have parked safely.

“Fines will continue to be issued for unsafe parking practices and legislated regulations such as disability parking, parking over yellow lines, clearways, bus zones and in front of driveways,” Mr Heath said.

Short-term parking areas with time limits of 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes will continue to be enforced in the interest of supporting express food takeaways and retail pick-ups, Mr Heath said.

Extra 15-minute parking will be added around North Hobart and Salamanca Place to further support access to takeaway food services.

The Devonport City Council has made even greater changes, deciding on Wednesday to immediately suspend all parking fees in its carparks and street meters until further notice.