[Halifax] QE II Health Sciences Centre | ? | ? | U/C

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by beyeas

I'm hoping later this fall to make a announcement on a major R&D project I'm driving forward on MR imaging in acute care. It will be a really cool project looking ultimately on health system wide outcome measures as the potential impact of the new technology, and one of the best parts is that it will cost the Dept of Health a grand total of $0 over the 4 year project in large part because of the significant private funding investment I've got coming into this. Once I am able to say more I'll send it your way, as it will be an interesting example of trying out a totally different approach to patient management for neuro cases in the ED. It's a cool opportunity for the QEII to be doing "first in patients" testing in partnership with the medical industry.

Let's hope DoH and the NSHA don't take the "not invented here" approach to shun this as they have done with several other privately-funded initiatives.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Let's hope DoH and the NSHA don't take the "not invented here" approach to shun this as they have done with several other privately-funded initiatives.

I can't speak to other situations as I don't know the details.

However, I can tell you that there has been a significant groundshift in recent years in terms of both the openness to innovation and to industry-healthsystem partnership at both IWK and NSHA. Just speaking personally, I have gotten huge support all the way up to both the executive of the health authorities to drive R&D partnerships. This has lead to collaborations in which major industries like GE Healthcare have an interest in IP we've developed in my lab, and other collaborations where we can bring in technology developed privately and add IP to it to improve commercialization potential.

In the latest example that I was talking about before, we would not have been successful in making it happen without concrete support and action at both the DoH and NSHA leadership levels. The shift toward this openness to innovation focused partnerships has been noticeable from my personal perspective. I often speak about how there is an opportunity for us in NS to rethink how we approach our healthcare challenges in this province. We need to think of them not as a problem/sinkhole but as an economic development opportunity. Let's stop focusing on the problem and instead focus on finding solutions, and then market those solutions to the world. I can tell you, from having talked to many many companies from outside our region, that they see strategic opportunity in NS. We have a single health authority covering every adult in the province, which means one body to contact with, one ethics board to get approval from, and one IT system that manages all the healthcare data ranging from tertiary to community care. Companies I talk to say that to do the same thing in Boston or Toronto would be a nightmare of multiple contracts and approvals. Even our size is an opportunity, as we are small enough to be nimble/responsive but big enough that we can test at scale. For me, I therefore prefer to focus on the positive in terms of proactive solutions to our health system challenges, as I see them as opportunities for economic development.

[q12]

This rendering shows the parking garage that will be located next to the Museum of Natural History on Summer Street in Halifax

Province to spend $29.5M on new Halifax Infirmary parking garage

Garage will replace existing lot that will come down as part of redevelopment project

The provincial government has approved $29.5 million for a new parking garage to be built across the street from the Halifax Infirmary, which will address the void created when the existing garage is demolished.

Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Lloyd Hines told reporters the funding was approved earlier this month.

A tender for the new garage — which will have up to 900 spaces and go on the existing Museum of Natural History parking lot on Summer Street — will be issued in January. All but $6 million of the cost will come from next year's budget.

Hines said a parking garage might be mundane in comparison to the other aspects of the $2-billion hospital redevelopment project, but parking is "vitally important" to operations.

It will be up to the company leading the project to decide when the existing garage on Robie Street will come down, but Hines said he expects it will happen in the spring of 2021, after the new parkade is complete.

Hines said he doesn't expect any long-term effects on the Wanderers Grounds or the Halifax Junior Bengal Lancers, the two neighbours to the south of the project area, once construction is complete.

Green space by museum to go
To compensate for the loss of the museum's parking lot, which has about 32 spaces, the government is also issuing a tender for a temporary parking lot to be constructed on the green space to the north of the museum.

Even if the temporary lot weren't going there, Hines said the green space would eventually be used as part of the hospital redevelopment project.

The announcement comes a day after the fall sitting at Province House wrapped up, where the environment was a central issue of debate.

Hines said the government is mindful of the loss of green space as part of the project, but the predominant use of cars for transportation and need for parking had to be considered.

"If anybody parks in the downtown here in the city you know what it's like — either, A, to find a spot or, B, to pay for one if you get it," said Hines.

"So, in this instance here there's a bit of a sacrifice, yes, in terms of where we're going but that service is vital to the facility and we feel that it's worth the sacrifice to put this particular facility in place."

2,700 parking spaces in total
The minister said there would be further expansion of parking services for the hospital before the redevelopment is complete, which will ultimately result in a total of 2,700 parking spaces, up from the current 1,400.

Hines said it would be up to Partners for Care, the non-profit that manages parking, to determine what rates would be in place for the new garage on Summer Street. A spokesperson for the organization said that while they have influence on rates, the province has decision-making authority.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...care-1.5342772

[Keith P.]

This location is absolutely ludicrous. They are making patents - many of whom are disabled, have mobility issues, or who are suffering from heart, lung, pain, or other problems - walk up Summer St, cross over, navigate the entry courtyard of the QEII just to get into the main floor lobby which is largely unused. Even if they reconfigure that space to be the main registration point for clinic visits and the like this is still about as inconvenient a location for hospital parking as they could find. Surely to god something better than this could have been figured out. What are they thinking? Clearly they are not thinking about the patients.

[Querce]

Are there any details of what the full redevelopment will look like other than the video?

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by q12

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...care-1.5342772

Hines said the government is mindful of the loss of green space as part of the project, but the predominant use of cars for transportation and need for parking had to be considered.

Shameful, all this use of cars to take people to the hospital. What do these people think the city built all those bike lanes for?

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by Querce

Are there any details of what the full redevelopment will look like other than the video?

The province has done a pretty good job of maintaining their QEII redevelopment website since they launched it in the spring of 2016:

https://healthredevelopment.novascotia.ca/qe2

The website doesn't say much about parking specifically. I know that an earlier concept proposed expanding the existing parkade at the Infirmary, but it appears that was either determined to be unfeasible, or the site better suited to other uses. In addition to the expansion of the existing Infirmary building there will be at least two new buildings at the site: the new outpatient clinic/eye centre and the new cancer centre. There are links on the site to the full master planning documents although, oddly, they don't seem to have been updated since the decision was made to move the cancer centre from the Dickson Building to the Infirmary. At least one of the new buildings will be on the site of the former CBC building, which I think is due to come down in February, but I don't believe they've announced publicly what will be there.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

The province has done a pretty good job of maintaining their QEII redevelopment website since they launched it in the spring of 2016:

https://healthredevelopment.novascotia.ca/qe2

The website doesn't say much about parking specifically. I know that an earlier concept proposed expanding the existing parkade at the Infirmary, but it appears that was either determined to be unfeasible, or the site better suited to other uses. In addition to the expansion of the existing Infirmary building there will be at least two new buildings at the site: the new outpatient clinic/eye centre and the new cancer centre. There are links on the site to the full master planning documents although, oddly, they don't seem to have been updated since the decision was made to move the cancer centre from the Dickson Building to the Infirmary. At least one of the new buildings will be on the site of the former CBC building, which I think is due to come down in February, but I don't believe they've announced publicly what will be there.

Thanks for that link, it gave me much more info than I had. Communication of all this to the public has been bungled terribly. But perhaps there is a good reason for that. This thing seems to be very much inwardly-driven, with little to no consideration of patient/client needs.

Go here for the latest detailed planning document:

https://healthredevelopment.novascot...compressed.pdf

Since the discussion here is about parking, I looked for references to that. It is a bit scary. The document is confusing but I note a few things:

- It does mention decommissioning of the existing parkade. But incredibly, it suggests it be relocated to the VG site! Why/how that would be necessary remains unexplained. It makes zero sense to relocate it there, obviously.

- It foresees absolutely no development beyond the existing block boundaries of Bell Rd, Summer St, Jubilee Rd and Robie St. This new parkade is not mentioned anywhere.

- A new building on the site of the existing parkade is shown as having one level of parking for less than 100 vehicles. It clearly is not public parking and would likely be for staff/internal use, although this is unsaid.

- What is presumably a second phase of redevelopment (more later) shows a building on the former QEH site at the corner of the Willow Tree intersection. That development has 3 levels of parking proposed so there would eventually be some public parking there.

Where it gets totally confusing is that it talks at length that phase 1 is redevelopment of the old CBC site plus removal of the existing parkade for a new building there. In that discussion it makes zero mention of parking aside from removal of the existing structure. It just is brushed aside. How this is even possible is a mystery. How can the services continue to be delivered if there is no place for patients to park? It is like those involved - legions of health and govt bureaucrats if you read the first few pages outlining the army of people with a hand in this - simply ignored that reality. But they did find time to discuss keeping the old farm site as green space during this phase as if that was somehow an important consideration.

I conclude a couple of things. Someone finally woke up and realized that phase 1 without any parking was not going to work, so the announcement of this new parkade this week - something never mentioned in these documents - was a last-minute emergency reaction to that. That's why it is so poorly located, because it is the only existing PNS property available. How this was missed raises serious questions about the remainder of the redevelopment plan, though I clearly do not have the background to assess that. But it is very worrying.

My second conclusion is more straightforward. The emphasis on keeping the farm site as green space during phase 1 is completely misguided. That area is not highly used or valued as green space and being adjacent to the common, green space is in ample supply already. In phase 2, whenever that eventually occurs, 3 levels of parking are proposed in the basement of the new structure there. But that seems many years in the future. It would make far more sense to build that now with provision for development above at a later date, and keep adjacent parking available rather than spending $30 million or more on a parkade that will eventually become either staff parking or a Wanderers Grounds parking structure.

I am very concerned that the needs of patients both during this lengthy construction and after it is finally completed have not been taken into account. The document seems to be totally focused on the needs/wants of those involved internally. The lack of any outside voices that could speak to patient needs during all this are totally missing from the list of those involved. This is a huge mistake.

[Querce]

The problem with having the parkade on the farm site, though, is that means the highest volume entrance/exit to the hospital would be right next to the Robie/Quinpool/Bell/Cogswell intersection, which is complicated enough as it is, without adding the possibility of having people stop right after the intersection to turn into the parkade.

I imagine we might get a better picture of what the plans are when the Centre Plan Package B comes out in January (assuming hospitals are included in "Institutional")

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Querce

The problem with having the parkade on the farm site, though, is that means the highest volume entrance/exit to the hospital would be right next to the Robie/Quinpool/Bell/Cogswell intersection, which is complicated enough as it is, without adding the possibility of having people stop right after the intersection to turn into the parkade.

The only parking on the site after the redevelopment is completed is proposed for that spot. I believe the entry/exit will be near the existing exit to the parkade which is near the top of the hill on Robie, so there should be little issue with what you are concerned about.

I imagine we might get a better picture of what the plans are when the Centre Plan Package B comes out in January (assuming hospitals are included in "Institutional")

HRM is a junior level of govt to the province, so things like the Centre Plan do not apply to provincial projects.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The only parking on the site after the redevelopment is completed is proposed for that spot. I believe the entry/exit will be near the existing exit to the parkade which is near the top of the hill on Robie, so there should be little issue with what you are concerned about.

They could also link it into the entrance from Summer St. with little to no impact on traffic.

[q12]

Looks like Parkade and power plant will now be back on the hospital site.

Highlights from 11 Feb, 2020

Municipality and province identify potential new location for QEII parkade and heating plant

The municipality and the province have been working together to identify alternate design options and locations for the QEII parkade and heating plant, while minimizing the impact to green spaces. Further to today’s decision by Regional Council, the municipality will work with the province to allow the QEII Redevelopment Project to locate the parkade and heating plant on the west side of Summer Street, adjacent to the new hospital expansion. Once more detailed site surveys and specifics of this approach have been finalized with the province, the municipality will look for public engagement regarding changes to Summer Street.

https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/reg...nce-our-region

CBC story:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...kade-1.5459979

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by q12

Looks like Parkade and power plant will now be back on the hospital site.


https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/reg...nce-our-region

CBC story:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...kade-1.5459979

It's nice to see that common sense has prevailed...

[bluenoser]

Interesting look back on the soon-to-be-demolished CBC TV Building, which opened in 1956:

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1704122435510

[Jstaleness]

Originally Posted by bluenoser

Interesting look back on the soon-to-be-demolished CBC TV Building, which opened in 1956:

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1704122435510

I really enjoyed watching that. I am familiar with most of those shows as well. The color ones at least.

[ns_kid]

Halifax Council today approved the province's revised plan for a parkade to service the expanded Halifax Infirmary site on land adjacent to the Museum of Natural History on Summer Street.

While the vote was unanimous, some councillors still voiced concern about the plan, with Sam Austin quoted as saying the structure is "still not a great fit in terms of what we are going to have fronting on the Common".

But Waye Mason thanked the province for listening to the public.

Of course Peggy Cameron and her Friends continue to voice opposition, insisting the land must remain "public open space", which is a fiction.

The documents submitted to council show the revised Infirmary site plan, with the 8-storey, 512-space parking structure now to the north of the museum, the side opposite the Wanderers Grounds. It is interesting that this is almost 400 spaces fewer than originally proposed for the Summer Street parking structure. Together with an additional structure on Bell Road (the current CBC site) that's only 1500 parking spaces, barely more than what is at the Infirmary site now and far less than the 2700 Minister Hines proposed last fall.


Source: Halifax.ca

[someone123]

Interesting that a new power plant will be built as part of this. I guess that's what the building behind the hospital on South Street is. Dalhousie also has its Central Services Building.

Buildings (1) and (4) will be quite large in scale, similar to or larger than The George going up across the street. Robie is going to feel very different when these buildings are completed. I could see Robie becoming a much busier corridor in the next decade as so many new projects are built. It runs through areas with a lot of development potential.

[Keith P.]

This is being mischaracterized as a HRM approval. While Council voted positively on this, as a junior level of govt to the province they have no power to stop it. This is simply a feel-good motion to save face for all in this debacle.

As for the reduction in parking, either Mason, Austin & co. expect sick people to ride bicycles to the facility, or there will be another shoe to drop at some point.

[IanWatson]

Specifically, Council approved the encroachment for the pedway. The parking garage itself is fully on Province-owned land, so no approval needed for it. If Council had said "no", the Province could still have built the garage, just not the pedway.

The previous proposal (south of the museum) DID need Council approval, because the Province needed to buy some land from HRM to make it work. Of course, they could have expropriated but that takes time and probably would have been politically-poisonous.

This updated proposal is slightly better, but I don't cherish the thought of looking at an 8-story parking garage when sitting on the Common. Hopefully they invest in some good design for the structure and don't just build MetroPark 2.0

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

As for the reduction in parking, either Mason, Austin & co. expect sick people to ride bicycles to the facility, or there will be another shoe to drop at some point.

... or, some of the new buildings may have parking below.