A huge range of transport transformations are planned for Aberdeen, including adding two segregated cycle lanes to the Bridge of Don and cutting it down to just two lanes for traffic.
Earlier this month, the city council revealed its proposals for what it’s calling the Ellon Park and Ride to Garthdee “transport corridor”.
There are four “packages” of multi-million pound plans the council has put forward to ask the public what they think in a consultation.
They include up to nine and a half miles of new bus lanes, and 23 miles of cycling routes.
There are dozens and dozens of changes proposed across the four packages, which can be viewed in complex maps on the council’s website.
But to help you understand the proposals better, we’ve created seven artist’s impressions of some of the biggest proposals put forward for the future of Aberdeen’s transport network.
Read on to see what they could look like for yourself, and then let the council know what you think here.
1. Parking bays removed on Holburn Street to make way for bikes and buses
In two of the four packages of proposals, parking bays along the length of Holburn Street would be gone.
In the multi-modal package, as well as the active travel package, the designs show a Holburn Street where parking as it is now would become a thing of the past.
The plans say that parking bays would “require removal” in order to deliver bus lanes and cycle lanes.
Both say a review would be required to “determine availability of spaces on adjacent streets”.
And the multi-modal study says third party land would need to be used to deliver both bus lanes in combination with cycling routes, “which would affect private properties”.
The parallel routes and the public transport priority packages both would require peak time parking controls along the length of Holburn Street, instead of an outright removal of parking spots.
2. A cycling and walking route along the old A90
Three of the four proposal packages include the creation of an active travel route between the Murcar roundabout at the north of Aberdeen and Ellon.
Although the route is “to be confirmed”, the plans say they will likely use sections of the old A90 Aberdeen to Ellon road, which is a lot more quiet since arrival of the dual carriageway.
This could mean a cycling and walking route along the current B977, which goes past the Cock and Bull restaurant.
3. Greenery gone in Garthdee for cycle routes
And on the southern end of the transport corridor, three of the four packages have earmarked the removal of green spaces in Garthdee to make way for cycling infrastructure.
With the exception of the public transport priority plans, the proposals would mean a loss of grassy areas on the north side of the road between Inchbrae Road and the roundabout at Sainsbury’s.
In its place would be segregated cycle lanes in both directions.
4. Bus lanes, cycle lanes, and loss of up to 16ft of properties on King Street
Of all the changes proposed, some of the most drastic would be on King Street.
The multi-modal package would implement bus lanes and segregated cycle lanes in both directions along the route, which takes travellers from the heart of Aberdeen north to the Bridge of Don, passing Aberdeen University.
These plans would require around 20 parking bays to be removed.
And for both cycling and bus lanes in combination, they would require the use of between 9.8ft and 16ft of third party land, including private properties.
5. A much more narrow Bridge of Don for cars, but better for cyclists
The active travel package would mean a loss of a traffic lane in both directions along the Bridge of Don.
This would be to make way for segregated cycle lanes in both directions on the busy bridge, which is a vital part of the transport network for commuters going from Aberdeen to Ellon.
And the multi-modal pack of plans, which seeks to create both cycle lanes and bus lanes along the whole transport corridor, has even more significant ideas for the Bridge of Don.
It says that the bridge is not wide enough to accommodate bus lanes and segregated cycle lanes as it is now.
And so to implement both cycling and bus lanes at the same time, it proposes widening the existing bridge — or excluding one of either the public transport or cycling elements.
6. New cycling routes along Golf Road
The parallel routes package seeks to have bus lanes and priorities along the main Ellon to Garthdee transport corridor, and utilise quieter nearby roads for cyclists.
One aspect of this idea would be bus lanes along King Street, and instead of having cycling lanes alongside them, bicycle riders would be diverted along Golf Road, Park Street, Park Road, Seaton Road, and Seaton Place East.
The council map suggests the “consideration of dedicated cycling facilities on Golf Road”, which runs to the east of King Street.
7. New bus lanes and cycle lanes between Murcar Roundabout and The Parkway
One of the key stretches of the transport corridor is the Ellon Road between the Murcar Roundabout and The Parkway at the north of the Bridge of Don area.
The multimodal package would involve the loss of a general traffic lane in each direction along the Ellon Road between The Parkway and the Murcar Roundabout, during bus lane hours of operation.
Segregated cycle lanes would be created in both directions, and new bus lanes in both directions would also be on the cards.
Find out more about the nuts and bolts of the four proposal packages here:
9.5 miles of new bus lanes considered for Aberdeen in multi-million-pound proposals
And you can take part in the council’s consultation here.
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