Public exhibition on South College Street Junction Improvements Project available online

09 December 2020

An online exhibition has gone live today on Aberdeen City Council’s website to give people more information about the planned South College Street road improvements.

The project was approved by the council’s city growth and resources committee last year and authority was given in May at urgent business committee for the go-ahead for a compulsory purchase order to acquire the necessary land.

The project includes a package of junction improvements and road widening measures which will increase capacity and improve traffic flow on this section of the road network. There will be shared and segregated facilities for pedestrians and cyclists alongside the carriageway.

The main changes to the area include:

An additional traffic lane along South College Street between Bank Street and the A93 Wellington Place;An additional lane on Palmerston Place;A new traffic signal controlled junction at the intersection of Palmerston Place/ A956 North Esplanade West;The alteration of the existing traffic signal controlled junctions at the South College Street/ A93 Wellington Place junction and the South College Street/ Millburn Street/ Palmerston Place junction adding additional approach lanes and improving operational coordination;New and altered walking and cycling infrastructure along the South College Street and Palmerston Place;Reconfigured parking and loading areas on South College Street between Millburn Street and A945 Riverside Drive.

Aberdeen City Council transport spokesperson Councillor Sandra Macdonald said: “Making these improvements is the next step towards providing a transport network to meet Aberdeen’s needs and city centre aspirations.

“I’d urge people to have a look at the online exhibition to find out how the project will improve both traffic flow in the area and also encourage more walking and cycling.”

The changes to the South College Street area are key to facilitating two major pieces of infrastructure planning in Aberdeen – the City Centre Masterplan and North East Scotland Roads Hierarchy.

The project will support the City Centre Masterplan aims to improve the public realm in the city centre by providing additional road capacity to accommodate the rerouting of vehicular traffic arising from the implementation of public realm enhancements along Guild Street and Union Street.

As part of the Roads Hierarchy which is changing access to and around the city after the bypass (AWPR) was built, South College Street junction and associated roads will have an important role in providing a key route to the city centre.

Indicative programming anticipates works to construct the improvements are due to start in Summer 2021 with a full opening planned for Summer 2022. However, the timetable depends on coronavirus restrictions and is weather dependent.

A detailed appraisal of the required improvements has been undertaken and a preferred option was adopted by the City Council in 2017. As the design has progressed, further work including traffic modelling has been carried out to ensure that the project will be effective.

The public exhibition is split allowing people to look at the changes in four sections – College Street to North Esplanade West, Wellington Place to Palmerston Place, South College Street to North Esplanade West, and Palmerston Place to Queen Elizabeth Bridge.

There is an opportunity for people to comment on each of the sections and the project overall however it should be remembered the South College Street Improvements is an approved project.

People can view the exhibition at South College Street Junction Improvements - Aberdeen City Council - Citizen Space until 19 January 2021.