Shared cycle and pedestrian footway to be built

10 February 2016

Work is to start this month on a new shared cycle and pedestrian footway and widening an existing path so it can be used for cycling in the Bridge of Don area.

The 3 metre-wide shared cycle and pedestrian footway is to be built along The Parkway between Ellon Road and Balgownie Road and the works will also involve the upgrade and widening of the western footway of Ellon Road (A90) between the Parkway (A90) and Murcar Roundabout to a 3 metre wide shared-use footway.

The works will also include a section of footway improvements along the northern footway of The Parkway between Whitestripes Aveneue and the Old Whitestripes Road.

The A90 Trunk Road Cycle Route is being coordinated by Aberdeen City Council and is being joint funded by the AWPR funding partners as offset mitigation funding (exclusively the Ellon Road Section), Nestrans, and Sustrans, and The Parkway northern footway improvements are being funded through Cycle Walking Safer Streets fund.

Aberdeen City Council Transport and Regeneration spokesman and cycling champion Ross Grant said: "This is fantastic that work is starting on a new shared cycling and walking path, and an existing path is to be widened.

"Aberdeen City Council is committed to making the city a safer and better place for cyclists of all ages and I'm sure the new paths will make a difference not only for residents living in the Bridge of Don area but also for people all over Aberdeen wanting to cycle through the north of the city."

More cycle pathways are planned for the future in the Bridge of Don area to improve connectivity to the new shared-use footways.

There will be traffic management measures in place during the works to protect the workforce and travelling public.

Off-peak, intermittent lane closures and verge works will be used throughout most of these works to minimise any disruption to the travelling public Road closures, which will take place on Parkway's side roads, will be implemented on weekends and evenings only and won't last longer than one day.

All diversions will be signed and any affected bus routes will be notified. The bus stop on the western side of Ellon Road close to the Bridge of Don B&Q will be closed for the first two weeks of the construction of this project. Works for this project are expected to start on 22 February and are expected to last for 18 weeks, although this timescale is subject to fluctuation.

Further travel information is available from the website http://smartjourney.co.uk/.

A competitive tender exercise was carried out on Public Contract Scotland in November/December and awarded in January to Hunter Construction (Aberdeen) Ltd for £901,919.72. The tender also included some improvements to the paths around the Don and in Seaton Park, and were identified in the Access from the North study and Aberdeen City Council's Active Travel Action Plan.