‘We are dismayed’: Cycling community reacts to Aberdeen transformation plans

By Kieran Beattie

October 5 2022, 5:00 pm

Artistic impressions of the bottom end of Union Street, showing cyclists sharing the road with motorised traffic. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

Plans to transform Aberdeen city centre and drastically reduce traffic volumes ‘have not gone far enough’, members of the cycling community have argued.

Earlier this week, proposals were revealed to completely overhaul the heart of the Granite City and how we travel through it.

Artist’s impressions for the plans show a tree-lined Union Street, wider pavements, light installations, and cyclists travelling through the city centre alongside buses, car drivers, and pedestrians.

Halo lights, similar to those in Union Terrace Gardens, are shown on the new images outside the planned £50m new market development in the central stretch of Union Street. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

The plans are intended to “avoid unnecessary traffic going through the city centre”, and “make it easier and safer for people to move around by walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport”.

However, a variety of bicycle-loving individuals and organisations say the plans leave much to be desired if council wants to encourage people to get on their bikes.

New cyclists will be ‘fearful’ of travelling alongside big vehicles, says campaigner

The western end of Union Street, showing vastly reduced traffic. Image: Aberdeen City Council. — The western end of Union Street, showing vastly reduced traffic. A new consultation has been launched on plans for Aberdeen city centre. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

The images released as part of a consultation on the proposals — which are part of a £150 million project to reinvigorate the city centre and the beach — show cyclists sharing travel routes with buses, cars, and those on foot.

Rachel Martin, campaigns secretary of the Aberdeen Cycle Forum, said her group is “generally not in favour of shared spaces”.

Rachel Martin, from the Aberdeen Cycle Forum, on the short-lived segregated cycle route at the beach. Photo: Jim Irvine, 29/10/20.

She explained: “They can work in rural areas where there’s less foot traffic, but in city centres they create conflict between cyclists and pedestrians.”

Rachel said the forum would prefer “segregated spaces for cyclists” — particularly for when it comes to big vehicles.

Rachel continued: “We are dismayed that the plans include putting cyclists and buses in the same space.

“Road users with large differences in mass and speed should always be kept separate.

“It will not encourage new cyclists because they will be fearful of travelling alongside such large motorised vehicles.”

Artist’s impressions of quiet streets dubbed ‘rose-tinted’

Aberdeen Music Hall on the western part of Union Street. New images have been revealed as a public consultation is launched on the multi-million-pound city centre and beach masterplan. Image: Aberdeen City Centre. — A view of how Union Street outside the Music Hall could look like under the new proposals. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

Martin Sharman, who organised the “Critical Mass” ride-out where dozens of cyclists rode around the city centre last week to highlight poor bike infrastructure, said he has mixed feelings about the plans.

cycling aberdeen — The Critical Mass bicycle ride-out took place in Aberdeen on Friday. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson

He said although he welcomes the proposals to regenerate the city, he believes “the changes have not gone far enough” to improve Aberdeen cycling.

Martin continued: “More needs to be done to create safe segregated routes to and from, as well as in, the city centre and in particular, prioritise bicycle safety while still addressing the needs of vehicular traffic.”

Road planners estimate that there could be major reductions in traffic on key streets in Aberdeen if the proposals proceed, including a drop in up to 80% of traffic on central Union Street.

This map shows estimates of traffic reduction on key streets in the city centre if the proposals go forward. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

But Martin says he remains sceptical.

He said: “The visualisations of empty streets with a couple of bikes and a few buses seem far from what in reality it will be, and portrays a rose-tinted perspective of these changes”.

Ride the North founder says cycling in Aberdeen is ‘not for the faint-hearted’

Neil Innes, founder of the annual Ride the North cycling event, says he finds the plans “a bit underwhelming, to be honest”.

He said: “The lead visual for what has been presented was a tree-lined Union Street with cyclists mixing with buses without a segregated cycling lane.

“I doubt it matches up to the best practices in cycling design guides.”

Neil added: “Cycling in Aberdeen is a bit of an adventure sport, and it’s not for the faint-hearted.

A play area with a whale-themed sculpture is proposed for the Castlegate area. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

“We’ve got a city that’s really easy to get around in terms of size, but I wouldn’t advise a student who is not an experienced cyclist to jump on a bike and go through Aberdeen City Centre, I think it’s dangerous.

“It’s not a great experience for a cyclist.”

National transport charity ‘very pleased’ with proposals

A potential vision of the future of the West End of Aberdeen. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

Transform Scotland is a charity alliance that campaigns for improvements for all kinds of sustainable travel across the country, and incorporates around 60 member organisations.

Colin Howden, director of Transform Scotland, said: “Cities across the continent are transforming their centres to put people first.

“So we’re very pleased to see Aberdeen City Council bring forward plans for Union Street which prioritise pedestrians, cyclists, and bus users.”

He added: “Public realm improvements and limiting car access have a long-proven record in reducing shop vacancy rates in city centres, and we would expect the same benefits in Aberdeen.”