An online consultation has started to gather public views on proposals to improve the routes for walking, wheeling and cycling between Westhill and the city centre via Skene Road.
A route along the main road has been identified along with alternative parallel routes for cycling in the second part of the journey along quieter residential streets.
All the proposals would provide users with a continuous, coherent, attractive and safe environment and it would encourage people to undertake more journeys by walking, wheeling, and cycling.
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: “This consultation is an opportunity for people to have their say on the proposed changes for walking, wheeling and cycling on the A944 and A9119 made possible by the opening of the AWPR in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
“I hope as many people as possible, including nearby residents and road users, take the time to have their say.”
Proposals to improve walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure between Westhill and Aberdeen were first developed as part of the A944 / A9119 Multi-modal Corridor Study.
The Study identified options for delivering transformational change to sustainable transport provision (both bus and walking, wheeling and cycling) on the A944 (Lang Stracht/Westburn Road) and A9119 (Queen's Road/Carden Place) on western road approaches to the city.
A route following the main road is preferable from a cycling perspective and can offer a high quality level of provision, although the study found that this could be more difficult to deliver in some locations.
Alternative parallel routes for cycling were therefore identified along quieter residential streets where improvements could be made but these parallel routes would likely offer a lower quality of provision than the main road option. This included routes using King’s Gate, Carnegie Place, Rubislaw Den North/South, Queen’s Lane North, and Albert Lane.
The designs for the route are:
- Main route section 1 - Westhill to the Lang Stracht/Skene Road junction;
- Main route section 2 - (the preferred option for this location) Lang Stracht / Skene Road junction via Skene Road, Queen's Road, and Carden Place to the city centre;
- Alternative parallel routes for part of section 2 via King's Gate roundabout to the Queen's Cross roundabout:
- Parallel route A - King’s Gate, Carnegie Place, Rubislaw Den North, Desswood Place, Fountainhall Road, Albert Lane
- Parallel route B - King’s Gate, Anderson Drive, Rubislaw Den South, Queen’s Lane North, Albert Lane.
Several key features are proposed to enhance walking, wheeling and cycling. These include the use of segregated two-way cycle tracks on one side of the road or one-way cycle tracks on both side of the road along busier roads with higher speed limits, and on-road cycling along residential low speed roads supported by traffic management and calming measures.
The features would also include new and improved pedestrian and cyclist crossings at junctions at standalone locations, and continuous pavements on side roads providing walking, wheeling and cycling priority routes.
The online consultation is available on the council’s website until Sunday 18 August at https://consultation.aberdeencity.gov.uk/planning/westhill-to-aberdeen-active-travel-improvements