Fraser Valley nurse hit with multiple tickets despite registering for staff parking pass

A nurse at a Lower Mainland hospital feels as though she’s being punished just for going to work.

After months of free parking for visitors and staff during the pandemic, Abbotsford Regional Hospital brought pay parking back in March.

Ashley Third has worked as a licensed practical nurse at the hospital for six years. In November, she and some of her colleagues registered for the $21 monthly employee parking pass online through the Hangtag app.

“We were instructed that all of us would be put on a waitlist, and come the time we were to start paying, we’d all be granted our monthly parking passes,” said Third.

Then, on March 21, Third finished her shift to find a parking ticket on her windshield. It was issued by Impark, which manages the hospital’s parking lot. She noticed approximately 30 other vehicles had been ticketed as well.

Thinking it was a mistake, Third contacted Hangtag. She said she was told there could be a problem with her account and support staff would get back to her in a day. Third says she didn’t hear back from anyone. Two days later, she was issued another parking ticket.

In the past week, the nurse has racked up three $80 violation tickets. She believes Hangtag never issued her a parking pass and mistakenly kept her on a waitlist, but getting clarification from the company has been a challenge.

“It’s been quite mentally and emotionally exhausting just trying to get any answers whatsoever,” Third said.

She’s now stuck paying the daily parking rate of $4.50. Adding up to $1,200 annually, it’s nearly $1,000 more than the employee parking pass rate, and much more than Third can afford.

The nurse, who’s worked at the hospital for six years, credits management for trying to help diffuse the parking problem for her and other health-care workers, many of whom are on the brink of burnout from the pandemic. It’s the parking lot operators, she says, who aren’t doing their part.

“We need to find a better system,” she said. “I don’t know the answer, but we need to find a better system and better communication from Hangtag and Impark.”

Neither company immediately responded to CTV News Vancouver’s requests for comment.