TRAFFIC conditions outside Southend Hospital are set to be improved with a raft of measures, including a new layby so that cars queuing to get into the hospital won’t have to wait in the road.

A £10 million multi-storey car park is currently being built at the hospital in Prittlewell Chase. It is due to open in April next year in the north-west corner of the hospital grounds and will provide 900 spaces, bringing the total on site to 1,600.

In addition to the layby and car park, the hospital is planning to place new electronic signs at the approach to parking areas to indicate where spaces are available.

Malcolm McFrederick, the hospital’s director of operations, said: “Although we are doing everything possible to discourage staff, patients and visitors from travelling by car, we acknowledge some people do not have a reasonable alternative and therefore want to improve facilities for them.”

But taxi drivers who pick up and drop off visitors at the front of the hospital say the plans are far from clear.

Brian Houssart, former chairman of the Southend Taxi Drivers’ Association said: “It is not yet clear exactly where this is going to be and until it is, we will reserve judgement.

“If it is a layby that will allow all the cars going into the hospital to leave the road as we have suggested, that will be great, but we are not sure that is the case.”

A taxi rank, which had been blamed for causing some of the congestion at the hospital’s main entrance, was forced to move further away from the entrance because of the problems.

Mr Houssart added: “If they do put in a layby we would want to see the taxi rank put back.”