Decision details

(i)       to note that the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning would ask officers to circulate information to Members in relation to the active travel solution in place for Ashgrove Connects;

(ii)       to note that officers would provide Councillor Mrs Stewart with the analysis of the expected uptake by cyclists if the scheme were implemented;

(iii)      to note that Councillor Mrs Stewart had advised that she had received reports that the filter on the Mounthooly Roundabout onto King Street was often not working which caused problems for cyclists, and to note that the Chief Officer – Operations would highlight this to the Roads Operation Manager;

(iv)      to note that the Chief Officer – Operations would ask the Roads Operations Manager to provide information to Members outwith the meeting on (a) any data held in respect of vehicles, including buses, going through red lights; (b) whether members of the public would be able to apply for disabled parking bays on the proposed route while this project was being progressed or whether that would not be possible;

(v)      to note that officers would continue to review and update the Integrated Impact Assessment throughout the project;

(vi)      to note the outcomes of the Detailed Appraisal (Appendix 2) undertaken for the Westhill to Aberdeen City Centre Multi-Modal Transport Corridor Study;

(vii)     to note the preferred package of active travel improvement, as outlined in the report, however disagree with the outcome of the options appraisal which used the A9119 to link Kingswells to the City Centre;

(viii)    to recognise that the outcome of the Detailed Appraisal report outlines “Gradient issues heading westbound on the A944 are clearly unfavourable with cyclists, and cycle conditions on the A9119 appear preferable (as seen through the Strava data analysis); and as there is insufficient space at numerous locations along each corridor to accommodate both bus lanes and segregated cycle lanes (those which can meet current design best practice standards), these end-to-end options were developed on the basis that the infrastructure required for one mode may therefore need to be prioritised over the other.”;

(ix)      to agree that despite this, the Kingswells to City Centre via A944 was the most appropriate route for active travel provision and agree that the route should only extend to ARI at this point;

(x)      to note that the Aberdeen Rapid Transit report, which used the A944 as its preferred route, was due to be reported back by the end of the financial year 24/25;

(xi)      to instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to incorporate the options for active travel provision into the Aberdeen Rapid Transit report to be reported back at the earliest opportunity; and

(xii)     to recognise that there was currently no funding identified for this project and instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to work with NESTRANS to identify potential external funding sources.