With an investment of around 11 million euros, Contipark has completely modernised the Ritterstraße multi-storey car park in Bielefeld’s city centre. Following a comprehensive general renovation, one of the most important access points to the old town is available again. According to the investor, the investment strengthens not only the parking infrastructure but also the accessibility of retail, restaurants and cultural venues.
After several years of construction, the Ritterstraße car park in Bielefeld is back in operation with 425 parking spaces. Contipark describes it as one of the central parking locations in the city centre. The project was correspondingly important and involved numerous parties from planning, administration and construction over several years.
“The renovation of the Ritterstraße car park was no ordinary construction project. In the course of the work, new solutions had to be found and challenges overcome again and again. We are all the more pleased that we can now reopen this important location for the people of Bielefeld,” says Michael Kesseler, Managing Director of Contipark Parkgaragengesellschaft mbH.
A location for the coming decades
As part of the renovation, the car park was fundamentally modernised in technical and structural terms, Contipark reports. In addition to extensive work on the building fabric, all technical systems were completely renewed. The car park now operates ticketless and cashless using licence plate recognition. In addition, 32 charging points for electric vehicles have been installed. According to Contipark, the aim is to secure the location in the long term and meet the requirements of modern mobility.
“For many visitors, the way into the old town starts at Ritterstraße. That is why it was important to us not only to preserve this location but to take it to a new technical and functional level. With the reopening, the city centre regains a modern mobility hub that meets the requirements of the coming decades,” says Stephan Opitz, member of the management board and Head of Operations at Contipark.
A city centre fit for the future
Olaf Lewald, head of the City of Bielefeld’s traffic department, explains what matters in modern transport planning: “A city centre fit for the future does not thrive by playing individual modes of transport off against each other. It needs an intelligent interplay of all forms of mobility. That includes buses and trains as well as safe routes for cyclists and pedestrians. But a modern parking infrastructure for people who come to the city centre by car is just as important. The renovated car park strengthens the accessibility of the old town and is therefore an important building block of efficient urban mobility.”
A joint effort by many partners
Numerous companies were involved in the project. STRABAG AG (Direktion Nord, special construction division) carried out the largest share of the structural work. Elektro Licht was responsible for renewing the entire electrical infrastructure. The engineering firms KL-ING. GmbH and HPI HIMMEN provided planning support throughout the general renovation.
“With an existing building of this size, you keep coming across things you cannot see beforehand. That is exactly what made this project so demanding. Many solutions only emerged during the construction phase through close cooperation between everyone involved. It is all the more rewarding to see the result today,” says Wiland Kling, Managing Director of KL-ING. GmbH.
Quotes translated from German. This article was first published in German on Parken aktuell: Contipark saniert Bielefelder Bestandsparkhaus.