By Donna Hales
A parking problem at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center will be partially addressed this week, officials said.
Employees received a Friday memo on behalf of Gracie Specks, acting center director.
Twenty-five employees and some patient appointments will begin moving this week to the old Hastings building on East Shawnee Bypass. It is being transformed into the center’s Business Office/Behavioral Medicine Building, the memo states.
“As you are well aware, parking continues to cause concern for both our employees and the veterans we serve,” the memo said.
As of Monday, the first two rows of Parking Lot 4 (located at the south end of the medical center and formerly known as the ‘Gravel Pit’) were designated as patient parking. That totals 34 spaces, said Nita McClellan, the Center’s public affairs officer.
The parking problem at the center increased after Dec. 31, when the center gave up 50 spaces it leased from the adjacent Five Civilized Tribes Museum. The Center and the museum could not agree on the price of a new lease contract, said Specks and Mary Robinson, executive director of the museum.
Dozens of employees already have been parking at the VFW on Okmulgee Avenue and the American Legion on Broadway, McClellan said.
A shuttle had been transporting employees at peak times. Two shuttles are now being used, she said.
A vanpool program is used by 72 employees at the Center and frees up 61 parking spaces at the hospital, McClellan said.
Designing also is under way for construction of an additional 150-200 parking spaces behind the quarters (Buildings 6-10) and behind the facility, the memo said. Federal stimulus funds will be used to pay for the new parking lot.
Construction is expected to begin in May. It could take a year and a half to two years before it is completed, McClellan said.
VA Police have been instructed to ticket employees who park in Veteran/Patient parking spaces, the memo states. “The employee will be notified to move their vehicle and will receive a ticket. If necessary, vehicles may be towed.”
By the numbers
884
Employees
300
Average daily veteran outpatients
85
Average daily in-house patients
612
Number of parking spaces on site
40
Number of parking spaces at city’s amphitheater on the hill
12
Number of parking spaces at American Legion on Broadway
200
Number of parking spaces at the VFW on Okmulgee Avenue.
Of the 612 spaces:
227 — for patients only.
2 — additional handicap spaces for patients or employees.
176 — employees only.
193 — open parking.
14 — volunteers and clergy.
Source: Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center
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