Decision details

(i)             to welcome the Co-Leaders’ hosting of a round table meeting of business groups, bus operators, and others to discuss the city centre bus priority measures;

(ii)           to reaffirm the City Centre Masterplan objective of turning Union Street into a destination rather than a through route;

(iii)          to agree that successful businesses are vital to the future of Aberdeen city centre;

(iv)          to note that any changes to city centre traffic management arrangements would require equality impact assessments;

(v)           in the context of the ongoing construction works on Union Street and around the New Market development, to instruct the Chief Officer - Operations to introduce a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) to suspend Bus Gates on Union Street (westbound only) / Market Street (southbound only), between its junctions with Adelphi and Hadden Street; this allowing all classes of vehicle to turn left from Union Street onto Market Street, thereafter restricting general traffic to a left only turn at the bottom of Market Street onto Trinity Quay (Virginia Street), this to aid continued access and servicing of the businesses on Market Street and Shiprow throughout the remaining period of construction, with the cost of this being met as part of the Capital budget for “City Centre & Beach Masterplans : Market Redevelopment”;

(vi)          to instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning, using funding from the Bus Lane Enforcement reserve, to report as soon as possible on:

1.    the feasibility and impact of reopening Bridge Street to all vehicles in one or both directions.

2.    the feasibility and impact of removing the ban on right turns from Union Terrace onto Rosemount Viaduct;

(vii)        to recognise the importance of consistent messaging about Aberdeen’s city centre being open for business and instruct the Chief Officer - City Development and Regeneration to work with partner organisations to promote this; and

(viii)       to note that the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning would confirm how much had been spent to date on Aberdeen Rapid Transit.