The commute to work for staff at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre could soon include a shuttle ride or a long walk.
Alberta Health Services plans to create a temporary parking lot for hospital workers to use while a new parkade is constructed at the health care facility.
The temporary lot, with 404 stalls, will be located several blocks from the hospital at 5432 45th St. — the former site of UFA Co-op.
Red Deer’s municipal planning commission approved the project on Wednesday. Plans include a 128-square-foot shelter, lighting, and landscaping around the lot’s perimeter. Sidewalk connections to the hospital will also be developed.
The commission heard that a shuttle will run between the hospital and the parking lot during peak periods, and that the site will be monitored by hospital security.
Work on the five-level, 1,100-stall parkade for the hospital is scheduled to begin this year. The $44-million project, which will be located on the southeast corner of the hospital grounds, north of 39th Street, is expected to take a year and a half to complete.
The temporary parking lot can be used for up to two years.