Bedford Borough Council pioneered refurbishing car parks the Safer Parking way - Top marks

摘要

In a relationship that was the first of its kind, Bedford Borough Council partnered with British Parking Association (BPA) member Makers UK to transform three aging 1960s car parks into facilities accredited with Park Mark Safer Parking status and British Parking Award winners. First impressions are always important, and for visitors and residents of any city, first impressions are often created by car parks. Bedford Borough Council took an innovative approach to the refurbishment of three aging city centre car parks by working with a multi-agency team to revitalise them and transform the city centre. The project was competitively tendered and awarded to Makers, in what was the start of a highly successful partnership. The first car park to be refurbished, starting in 2004, was Lurke Street with a ￡1.5m budget. The refurbishment was not just aesthetic, but structural issues also had to be addressed. From the outset the partnership wanted to ensure the car parks met the standard of the Park Mark Safer Parking accreditation managed by the BPA. Stewart Briggs, Bedford's head of environment and street services, says Bedford was looking for innovative solutions to the refurbishment as the car parks were all aging and needed a lot of work on a tight budget. Due to the success of the Lurke Street project, which was achieved on time, within budget and with minimum disruption to users, Bedford managed to secure further similar funding for Queen Street and River Street, thereby transforming parking in the city centre.