Outrage after UCSF tells most Parnassus hospital employees no more on-site parking

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- UCSF, the second largest employer in all of San Francisco, recently announced that employees at their Parnassus and Mission Bay campuses will soon have to find parking elsewhere.

Rules for the Parnassus campus will take effect on June 1st.

"I just think that the public deserves to know what's happening with this," UCSF sonographer Jane Glover said.

UCSF employees at the Parnassus campus who spoke with ABC7 had heated words over the sudden change and the soon-to-be major inconvenience.

They were all upset that, come June, most of the staff will no longer be able to park on campus.

"On March 31st, we got this email announcing that staff would no longer be able to park in the staff garage, and I didn't quite believe it," Glover said. "I thought it was an April Fool's joke, because it was just before April 1st."

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In a statement, a UCSF spokesperson says in part, "Now, with demand higher than ever, we need to prioritize access for patients and visitors. These changes primarily impact those parking at Parnassus during peak hours."

UCSF says there are three off-site facilities where employees can park and take a shuttle bus in.

"My hour drive would essentially be an hour and a half drive to go from Petaluma, California to San Francisco," nurse Andrew Kovalcheck said.

Those we talked with said the only off-site parking option they are aware of is nearly three miles away at the Japantown Center.

"The Japan Center garage is a possibility for some, but I believe the spots have all been spoken for; they were allocated a certain number," Glover said.

"The lot in Japantown, people have these huge safety concerns regarding leaving their car parked there, and even walking to and from the garage," nurse Holly Bannister said.

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"They didn't ask us what we thought would help with the solution," Kovalcheck said. "They didn't do any incentivizing. It was very like militantly: 'It's no longer an option, and it's off the table.'"

"I would like them to at the very least, push this back, put it on hold until they have alternatives in place," Glover said.

UCSF says the off-site parking is less than half the cost of the current on-campus rates.

The California Nurses Association says more than 2,000 people have signed a petition in support of parking on campus. They will soon be meeting with UCSF high-ups to discuss their concerns.

A petition to support nurses has been started by National Nurses United.

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Here is the full statement from the UCSF spokesperson:

UCSF is implementing changes to staff parking to make more space available for patients and visitors, so they can get to appointments on time and receive the care they need.

Parnassus has long struggled to meet parking demand for our patients and before the pandemic, staff access to on-site parking was limited. During COVID, those restrictions eased, and more staff were temporarily able to use those spaces. Now, with demand higher than ever, we need to prioritize access for patients and visitors. These changes primarily impact those parking at Parnassus during peak hours.

To support employees, UCSF is offering new offsite parking at $99 per month - less than half the cost of on-campus rates - at three locations with a 5- to 15-minute free shuttle ride to campus. We're also expanding shuttle routes across San Francisco, distributing 9,500 Bay Passes to lower transit costs, and partnering on a regional shuttle service.

We know this is a shift, and we're working closely with our teams to ease the transition. We're grateful for their partnership as we work together to support patient access.