Nearing the end

Work on the refurbishment was halted over the busy Christmas shopping period but started again as soon as the January sale shopping had died down.

The main work outstanding was to replace the wiring and lights on level 4, so this level once again had to be closed while the work is being carried out.

Thank you to all of our blue badge customers and those using Shopmobility for being so understanding during the time that you have been moved to level 6 where temporary bays were set up.

The good news is that most of the new lights have now been installed so half of the level can be reopened. The electricians have told me that they are now working on putting up the new LED lights which will illuminate the zebra crossing to guide people over to the staircase to Napier Street.

LED lights being tested

The LED lights are part of a trial to see if they are suitable for use in a car park setting. We have been concerned for some time about the amount of electricity used to power all the car park lights, especially because they have to be on 24 hours a day every day of the year as our car parks never close.

LED lights use considerably less electricity and also have reduced maintenance costs so we are interested to see how they perform; we can then look into replacing some of the less-efficient lighting at one of our other car parks.

One other job which is underway is the new sign at the entrance which will also incorporate the height barrier and height sensor for the car park entrance equipment. One of the entrance lanes will be closed off whilst this work is completed.

A few spaces still need to be blocked off

There are still some smaller jobs to be done around the car park, but compared to what regular users and the staff have become used to over the past six months there shouldn’t be too many problems – just a few parking spaces that might be needed to be blocked off, rather than whole floors.

The refurbishment involved major work. A lot of it not immediately noticeable, and sometimes it seems to have been going on forever, but hopefully we can soon see the end of endless fencing blocking off the parking bays.

Delays, problems and closures – but not all bad news

Level 8a before refurbishment

We knew that there were some parts of the car park which were going to be more difficult to refurbish than others, but recently there have been more problems that we first envisioned.

We try to plan as carefully as possible to ensure that sufficient parking is available, but some events are outside our control and indeed seem sent to try us.

The contractors were working overnight as this would be a quiet time to do work on a busy section of the car park; they were however unable to finish the job as the lorry containing the flooring compound did not arrive on time.

Level 8a during refurbishment

It turned out that the lorry had been severely delayed in Dover after it was found to have a group of illegal immigrants hiding aboard!

I do apologise to the people who were turned away from the car park whilst it was closed for 5 minutes on the morning of 4 November; this was due to the lorry being manoeuvred next to the entrance after it eventually turned up.

Level 8a after refurbishment

This is also the reason that some of you may have been a bit surprised to be entering the car park by driving up the exit spiral that morning whilst the work was being finished on the up ramp.

I hope that despite all of the confusion that has been caused to our users during the refurbishment you have been able to see the improvements in the levels.

Level 4

Meanwhile, inside the car park, it is now the turn of level 4 to have its makeover and as this level consists mainly of disabled parking it was always going to be tricky to organise.

Shopmobility is usually based in an office on level 4 and so they have had to move; the service has temporarily relocated to the old Nat West bank on Fitzroy street. As Shopmobility is now nearer the Grafton West car park additional disabled parking has been made available in this car park as well as on level 8 at Grafton East. I hope that these changes have not confused too many people.

Level 4is currently closed, as the floor surface has had to be levelled and cleaned prior to the new surface being laid. This has been noisy work and has caused disruptions and concerns in at least one of the shops directly below due to the noise and vibration. There was a few days delay but work has now started again and they are working as fast as possible as we will need this and all other parking levels to be available again for the busy Christmas shopping period.

Closure of Grafton East car park will be taking place over the next week or two, but this will only happen overnight. Signage will be displayed at the entrance advising that alternative parking is available at Grafton West car park.

Visible Improvements

Level 8 with newly painted floor

Sorry for the lack of news over the past weeks, because of various holidays it meant that we have been very busy in the car park.

Looking back over the past few months it has certainly been a difficult time for customers and staff alike whilst we have all tried to keep up to date with which parking levels are open and closed. I do however hope that anyone who has been on one of the newly refurbished levels will agree that there is great improvement already even though there is still more to do.

The extra work yet to be carried out includes installing new lights which will provide better illumination whilst being more energy efficient, new car park machinery including pay stations, installing emergency help points and new signage.

I am sorry to report that there will be a couple more months of possible confusion to come as various parking areas will be closed to allow for more work to be carried out.

We will try to put sufficient signage up to make it clear where parking is available but if anyone has any problems please speak to a member of car park staff.

The photograph above shows Level 8 looking very smart with its new deck coating. This level should be open in a couple of weeks after the line markings have been painted on and the new lights have been installed.

PICTURE – 23-09-08-007 level 8A -Ceiling looking good but still a lot of work needed to the floor

Ceiling looking good but still a lot of work needed to the floor

The second photograph shows the work being carried out on level 8A, the work looks to me to be about a week or so behind level 8 which it connects to. New lights have been installed and the floor has been scarified to make it smooth (very sorry about the noise in Debenhams whilst this work was carried out).

The next stage is to bring another machine in to clean the floor fully before repairing the floor surface where necessary and then putting down the colourful deck coating which not only looks good but seals and protects the concrete below.

Here is an update on the parking levels that are currently open and closed:

• Levels 3, 4, 6, 10 & 10A are open
• Levels 5 & 7 are mostly closed – waiting for line marking and lights to be installed
• Levels 8 & 8A are closed – We are hoping to reopen level 8 in a couple of weeks

The contractors are now wanting to start work on the up and down ramps and we are starting to think about the best way to achieve this whilst leaving as much of the car park open for people to use as possible.

I will try to write another blog as soon as my headache is better.

Sorry for any confusion

Our contractors have been working hard and progress is continuing to be made on the refurbishment of Grafton East car park.

This has unfortunately meant parking levels continue to be closed to allow the contractors to work safely and to ensure that car park users are not hurt or cars damaged.

The sign at the entrance will give details of which levels are closed and we will continue to ensure that as many parking spaces remain open as possible.

I must admit to being particularly sorry for those people who parked on the small level 7 recently who would normally pay on levels 6 or 8 which were both closed for a while during this last week.

I would like to say that if anyone hasn’t been able to find their way to a paystation during the refurbishment works, payment can be made at the customer services kiosk next to the exit barriers.

On top of this problem people parking on level 7 would usually go up to level 8 to access the spiral ramp exit but this was closed and so they had to go up to the roof in order to go all the way down the exit ramp.

I am sorry for any confusion but I hope you enjoyed the long spiral trip down.

You may have seen that parts of the car park have been fenced off and long thin strips have been dug up. This is because the rubber joints between the concrete slabs needed to be replaced. Work has been taking place on levels 4, 6 and 8 to remove the old rubber strip and its metal surround and replace with new joints.

Work on the joints has almost finished on these levels but there are still holes in level 8A where work continues, although this should also be finished soon.

The electricians have started rewiring the car park ready for the fitting of new lights which will give out a brighter white light that we hope will make the car park a much nicer place to use. This work will continue on all the parking levels over the next few months.

I also hope that the new lighting will make life easier for our customers including the lovely lady I met the other day who was having difficulty finding her purse within her handbag, but perhaps that can be equally blamed on the vast amount of absolutely essential items we ladies just have to carry around with us.

The staircases are another area which are very much in need of freshening up. The staircase leading to Napier Street has been closed recently whilst jet washing has taken place; this is in preparation for redecoration, which will take place later.

Parking levels 6 and 8A will be closed but the rest of the car park will be open as usual.

Work to replace the joints on level 8A should be finished in the middle of the week after which this parking level will reopen.

Level 6 will remain closed as special coatings will be applied to the decks and the electrical wiring work will continue.

Some other small areas of the car park may be blocked off whilst other small jobs continue.

If you have any questions, problems or concerns about the refurbishment work please feel free to contact me by telephone on 01223 458500 (ask for Julie Edwards) or email carparks@cambridge.gov.uk.

Update 16 July – Car Park Still open

View from the car park roof

I would like to reassure our customers that the Grafton East car park is still open and available for use despite the refurbishment work which is still continuing and will be for many months to come.

We are working closely with Concrete Repairs Ltd to ensure that as many parking spaces are kept open as possible. Therefore if you come into the car park and find a parking level closed please look at the signs and continue on through the car park as there will be parking spaces available.

The spaces on the roof have never been so popular and on a nice day you could pause to admire the view of the many church towers and spires showing above the city centre skyline.

The work that is being carried out this week and next week has changed from the original schedule as reported in the last blog.

Holes in the floor have been repaired

Level 6 is currently closed and will be for approximately the next 3 weeks. The picture shows the situation after the repair holes had been filled in but more work was needed to prepare the floor for deck coating, this has unfortunately been noisy work as a machine was need to scrape the floor surface.

In the week starting 21 July deck coating work will be started I have been told that there will be a strong smell when the surface coating is applied and whilst it dries but the substance does not pose any danger to members of the public.

The deck coating is needed to not only make the surface look good and but to prevent the water and salts getting into the concrete structure.

Level 8A is closed whilst expansion joints are being fitted, these provide a filler between the concrete slabs that make up the parking deck. Joints are required to prevent water getting into the structure and also prevent leaking down onto whatever is below. The joints will be covered with asphalt over the next week or two.

Expansion joints are currently being fitted on level 6 and also level 4, which we have been able to keep mainly open by only closing small parts where the work is being carried out.

If you have any questions, problems or concerns about the refurbishment work please speak to either a member of car park staff or telephone 01223 458500 and ask for Julie Edwards or email on carparks@cambridge.gov.uk