General News
15 July, 2025
New car park deserted
A REGULAR user of a Cairns Regional Council car park has been forced to find an alternative after Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service took over a large chunk of the Bunda St site.
Michael Brumby said he was unable to find an empty space since the council and the service dedicated 95 car parks to staff at the Cairns Hospital from July 1.
“The trouble is every time I have been here almost all of the 95 allocated spaces are empty while the rest of the car park is full,” he said.
“The downside of (the reserved spaces) is the loss of 95 car parks for inner city workers.
“Ninety-five workers now have to find somewhere else to park which will most likely be further away from the city and be probably less safe.
“All this was revealed on Tuesday last week when I found I had been debarred from using one third of the Bunda St car park because I am not employed at Cairns Hospital.
“And yet I noticed only four of the 95 parking spaces were in use. And when I returned in the afternoon 91 spaces were still not being used.”
The Mt Sheridan St resident visited the car park at 10am on Monday this week and just three vehicles were in the hospital area. He was lucky to find a spot in the public spaces.
“I did catch sight of the small coaster hospital shuttle bus waiting outside for the, perhaps four members of staff, being carried across the city to commence work at the hospital,” he said. “Again, I noticed five car spaces had been removed by the regional council to provide for this private bus service.”
Mr Brumby said he always parked in Bunda St so he could devote six hours each day on Tuesdays and Thursdays for volunteer work in the CBD.
A council spokeswoman said the council identified Bunda St parking as an option for Cairns Hospital staff because of its location and availability.
“Most days there would be more than 100 bays available which would allow for the 95 spaces reserved for hospital use while still providing parking to the general public,” she said.
“Additionally, there are other off-street parking options available in the city, including Lake St and Grafton St. More parking information can be found on the council’s website.”
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service chief executive officer Leena Singh has blamed the school holidays for the lack of use of the temporary parking arrangement.
“It is currently school holidays and we have a workforce that takes high amounts of leave during this period,” she said.
“We expect utilisation to increase over the next two months as we refine this service to our staff. Longer term, as part of the Queensland Government’s hospital rescue plan, there is also a commitment to providing a new multi-storey car park within the hospital precinct.”
The reserved bays became available for hospital staff from Monday last week after a lack of spaces around the hospital, hefty fines imposed by the council for overstayers and safety and security concerns that were first raised in November last year.
