by Jolene Toves

Guam - The Guam Memorial Hospital is kicking into high gear its plans to solve their parking problems. As such, visitors to the island's only public hospital - get your money ready, as paying for parking may very well be in the future.

An RFP is being drafted for GMH, a route administrator Joseph Verga says will ultimately lead to better parking solutions. "We are going to RFP the management of the parking directly in front of the hospital to kind of reallocate and see if we can create more spaces and to reallocate and manage them properly," he explained. "It's going to involve putting paid parking in for visitors."

Verga says any funds generated will go to improving the surrounding area and build additional parking stalls. Verga is also looking into short-term solutions, noting, "We are trying to see if we can meet with the mayor of Tamuning to support perhaps being able to park on the side street to give more space. We just don't have enough," he said.

As for long-term solutions, Verga said, "We are trying to acquire the land right behind the construction area of the emergency room here through the Chamorro Land Trust Commission; I ultimately envision maybe RFP'ing that to build a parking structure."

Verga adds the vision of a parking structure for GMH is the best solution, but until that can be materialized GMH is looking into all avenues - one of which entails the facility working with the Guam Regional Transit Authority. "We are looking in to see if we can meet with them to see if we can enhance or increase the number of buses that comes to the area to encourage folks to use transportation," he stated.

Verga says GMH patrons aren't the only ones they are focusing on. They are also looking into incentives that will minimize staff parking. Giving prizes to employees who carpool and rewarding employees of the month with a parking space.

GMH is doing a variety of things on many levels to address the parking issue, and while Verga says, "There is no magic bullet", they will be moving forward with the short-term solutions as soon as possible.