October 4 2022

Aberdeen City Council has showcased early ideas for a radical reorganisation of the city centre to promote active travel and green space over cars and tarmac.

The lynchpin of the city centre & beach masterplan will see busy routes; including Union Street, Castlegate and Schoolhill, reconfigured by LDA Design as tree-lined spaces hosting trees, planters and rain gardens.

Upgraded routes will connect to two primary public spaces at Castlegate and Union Terrace Gardens, both of which will host new play areas, public art and events spaces.

Connecting the city centre with a network of walking and cycling routes the work will promote culture, social interaction and learning. Encompassing 65,000sq/ft of public realm works will be phased in over 5+ years, reducing traffic on affected streets by between 40 and 80%.

Key moves include the creation of 'plaza spaces' in front of key buildings, new seating and lighting. At present 64.7% of targetted routes prioritise vehicles with just 35.3% prioritising pedestrians. Following the work these proportions will flip, with 46% remaining as vehicle priority space and 54% as pedestrian priority.

The proposals are available to view online through 17 October. 

5 Comments

#1 Posted by Concerned earthling on 4 Oct 2022 at 15:29 PM

Have our alien overlords finally arrived to put us out of our misery?

#2 Posted by Dave fae Buckie on 4 Oct 2022 at 22:24 PM

Has anybody actually been to Aberdeen between October and April? You really do t want to be outside much in the dark windy and wet months…

#3 Posted by Hash on 5 Oct 2022 at 10:15 AM

As much as I support these changes, I can’t help but feel it’s a bit ironic or a bit of a free washing attempt considering how much cad centric new road construction Aberdeen is pushing all over the place…

#4 Posted by Cateran on 5 Oct 2022 at 20:14 PM

Ban cars and it won't be awash with people, it'll just be awash.

#5 Posted by Doric Andra on 6 Oct 2022 at 19:53 PM

#2 haymin Dave! sittin oot it thon time oh year ha'in a coffee 'n a rowie builds character!

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