More Aberdeen city centre roads could be returned to normal by the beginning of next week – as work to remove another batch of controversial changes got underway last night.
Wooden benches in bus lanes along Union Street are to be lifted by the council tonight, as more of the Spaces For People change is undone.
Most of the work will take place in the evenings and early mornings in an effort to limit disruption during the work which, weather depending, is expected to be finished by Monday.
The £1.76 million physical distancing project split the public adjusting to life in the time of Covid, with some arguing the project was an overreach from the local authority.
And the lane reductions along the Granite Mile – except for the central, soon-to-be-permanently-pedestrianised, stretch – will be among the first to be withdrawn.
The wooden decking pavement extensions, designed to mark out the reclaimed space for people walking, distancing, and queuing for entry in the rush after businesses reopened, have proven contentious – with people claiming to have slipped or tripped over them.
Not all of Union Street will reopen after Spaces For People
This latest round of removal was voted through by councillors last week, as they also agreed to keep the Market Street to Bridge Street stretch of Union Street closed for permanent pedestrianisation.
Belmont Street, Back Wynd, Schoolhill and Upperkirkgate measures are also to be maintained while a £150m redesign of the city centre is sketched up.
However, the one-way system in Justice Mill Lane – which caused friction between traders in support and those against the move – is also to be lifted.
Bus stops, moved to the middle of the road on the decks, will return to their ioriginal positions as roads are returned to their pre-pandemic layouts.
Licensing flexibility on beer tents, which sprung up as trading remained tough with fewer people allowed in venues over the last year and was tied to the Spaces For People project, is due to end at the end of January.
Union Street bus gate to be kept
And a money-spinning bus gate denying private vehicle drivers access in and out of Market Street from Union Street will remain in action, as will temporary taxi ranks.
This latest round of work is expected to be completed by the end of the month, firstly with the bulky items and then with the removal of the altered painted lines on the road.
Community groups are being lined up to benefit from the scheme, as the local authority looks to offload the wooden decks.
Changes on the Beach Boulevard and Esplanade will remain meantime while a new masterplan – possibly including a replacement stadium for Pittodrie – is drawn up.