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Hospital: Park land is needed

By JOHN DUNN
Published April 22, 2005

PRO: It is tough to fight rumors and fear. We discovered that as we began meeting with residents to explain why we need 0.4 of an acre of park for our garage, and why after studying 10 alternatives we have no other choice.

A parking study requested by the city shows our critical need for parking. Our current garages often close, forcing visitors and families to park in neighborhood streets. We bus more than 400 employees from off-site lots. We cannot do that permanently and expect to hire and keep skilled health care workers. There is too much competition and too severe a shortage of nurses and other specialists.

TGH is not a retail store making more room for shoppers. We are a not-for-profit hospital providing specialized services found nowhere else in the region. We are the only Level 1 trauma center, burn center, spinal cord and brain injury center, and adult solid organ transplant center. The City Council vote will have an impact far beyond the city limits - it will dictate our ability to meet the future needs of more than 4-million people in our rapidly growing 12-county area.

The Davis Islands Civic Association board of directors voted to oppose our project without meeting with us. They circulated petitions that people signed before seeing our plans, or getting questions answered. Rumors spread that we want to devour the rest of the park - even though this would mark just the second expansion beyond the hospital boundaries created 78 years ago. In short, fewer than 20 people formed a vocal opposition group and dug in prematurely.

Despite that, we knew Islanders had concerns and questions. We met about a dozen times with residents and organizations. We mailed more than 8,000 informational pieces. We held an open house, invited everyone to see our plans, ask questions and suggest ideas. We noted the garage would not be visible to any homes.

We shared a proposed 1,307-foot linear park along Seddon Channel that, if the rezoning is approved, would create public access to the water that does not exist today. This park would add 0.7 of an acre of public space on the water, almost twice what we would need for our project. The park is not required, it's an attempt to offer Islanders an alternative.

We've found that attitudes can change when people get facts and answers. Just one example - the Davis Islands Chamber of Commerce last week endorsed our rezoning.

John Dunn is a spokesman for Tampa General Hospital.

[Last modified April 21, 2005, 08:38:18]