OTTAWA — As the NCC begins holding open houses on the location of a new civic hospital, The Ottawa Hospital pledges public consultation on what it considers to be one of the most important issues when planning a new hospital: the parking.

The hospital admits, the current parking situation at its Civic campus simply doesn’t work — that it’s confusing, stressful and simply insufficient. In material posted on its website, the hospital says it needs to get parking right from the get-go.

The hospital estimates it needs about 3,400 parking spaces to meet demand at a new civic hospital. Surface parking would be cheapest, at $16 million. An above-ground structure would cost about $100 million while an underground parking garage would come in at nearly triple the cost.

The hospital pledges to consult with the community to find the “right solution.”

Whichever option they go with, the cost of building the parking would not be covered by the province, meaning the hospital would have to find a way to pay for it.

The hospital has not announced when it would hold public consultation on hospital parking or what form that may take.

The NCC’s first open house on its review of potential federal sites for the new Civic is planned for 3-9 p.m., Thursday, at the Canadian War Museum. A presentation and a Q-and-A will be held from 7-8:30 p.m.