Even if hospital employees can get through traffic outside the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, they may have trouble finding a parking space. There’s enough parking to provide one space for every four hospital employees, according to estimates by Navy officials. And staff parking lots could be full as early as 6:30 a.m. each morning.
While new parking decks were built to accommodate the 2,500 new hospital workers coming from the District, construction took away much of the existing parking spaces, according to Col. Charles Callahan, chief of staff at the National Naval Medical Center.
Workers are encouraged to take alternative modes of transportation, such as Metro since the Medical Center station is across Route 355 at the National Institutes of Health.
Montgomery County officials hope workers will take advantage of improvements to the county’s bike path network. About 700 NIH employees already bike to work, according to Phil Alperson, BRAC coordinator for Montgomery County.
One way or another, some hospital employees are going to have to find new ways to get to work. It’s not ideal, but they’ll make it work, Callahan said.
“We believe the most difficult period is going to be for the first three to four months while we settle out how people are going to be getting here,” Callahan said.
At least the hospital’s patients should have little difficulty parking, as the military placed a premium on providing ample parking for visitors and outpatients, Callahan said. – Ben Giles
