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By the numbers
- One singular surface parking space typically costs $5,000-10,000 per space.
- Why the range? This depends on size per space, size and shape of site, number of levels, topography, aesthetic design, and geographic location.
- Going above or underground? Structured parking costs between $25,000 and $50,000 per space.
- The average construction cost per underground parking space in the U.S. is $34,000.
What this means
Amid COVID-19, we’re facing an SOV (single occupancy vehicle) conundrum. Workers must balance the feeling of individual safety with needing a reliable way to commute to and from the workplace. If more workers turn to driving alone in the midst of the pandemic (keep in mind public transportation ridership across the U.S. is still down 70% year-over-year), organizations will soon face a costly facilities challenge if they’re not already: how to deal with an overflow of SOVs in their parking lots.
Hospitals are already known to be some of the worst offenders when it comes to perpetrating unhealthy transportation and commute patterns stemming from SOVs. Forward-thinking hospitals and healthcare systems are set out to change that to decrease facilities stress and improve the overall employee experience and patient care and outcomes.
Less budget spent on parking, more budget for patient care
Seattle Children’s Hospital is a prime example of a leading hospital driving healthier transportation practices by committing to reduce SOV usage to its hospital by 30% by 2028.
- If the hospital reaches its ultimate goal of a 30% SOV reduction by 2028, it will avoid constructing 500 parking spaces.
- This will save 225,000 square feet, enough to support 56 patient beds.
- At a construction cost of $40,000 per structured parking space, it will save the hospital an estimated $20 million.
What you can do
Avoiding parking overload and all of its resulting challenges means reducing an influx of single car commutes.
Commuting with Scoop is a great way to leverage existing resources you have by ensuring 2 commuters arrive to your hospital for every vehicle, reducing the burden on your lots, freeing up valuable spaces for visitors and patients, and reducing the need for further infrastructure spending.
By decreasing the number of employees relying on SOVs, hospitals will be able to decrease facilities budget on parking, allowing more budget to spend on what really matters: providing world-class patient care.
