Review the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital Development re parking and overshadowing issues

The Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital redevelopment project is at the concept plan stage for its first stage of works.

Whilst the community welcomes this long overdue development, the residents living in the streets adjoining the hospital site have strong concerns about two major issues that have not been addressed adequately in the concept plans:
1. the limited on-site parking for hospital staff, patients and visitors;
2. the overshadowing of neighbouring homes by the four storey building due to be erected on the Burdett Street side of the hospital site.

1. Regarding parking: current parking on the hospital site is already inadequate and results in the neighbouring streets being filled with staff cars from early morning until after 5 pm evenings during all weekdays. This has been an increasing problem for residents in recent years. Residents' visitors and relatives cannot find parking within two or three blocks of their homes during week days, residents cannot receive deliveries or have tradesmen call unless trucks and trade vehicles double park on the streets , or park in driveways.

This causes problems for elderly or less mobile residents and visitors and there are ongoing safety risks from cluttered streets where walkways are blocked and cars entering and leaving driveways have limited visibility of the oncoming traffic. The problem has existed for many years, has not ever been adequately addressed and with the proposed new and more intensive hospital activity will only become worse.

Whilst residents do understand that budgeting for parking is a budgeting issue they would like to point out that other developments in the area (high rise unit blocks and commercial businesses) are required to provide on site parking facilities for their staff and clientele.

We suggest that an underground facility could be provided by involvement of private sector joint venture partners (such as the Infrashore involvement in the Royal North Shore Hospital car parking facility) Residents also suggest that a 2 hour street parking limit and resident exemption stickers would encourage staff to park on the hospital site rather that on the surrounding streets, or to take public transport to their work.

2. The erection of a four storey hospital facility will potentially create overshadowing of homes, particularly on Derby Road and Burdett Street. Winter sun will likely to be blocked from these homes for significant periods of the day. Petitioners request that winter shadow diagrams be tabled for residents to consider before any final decision is made on the location of the four storey facility.

It appears to residents that decisions on the building design, size, location and parking facilities have been taken without due consideration for the residents whose homes adjoin the hospital site.