Latest plans for Haudagain improvements set to go on public view
23/05/08
Public consultations on options for cutting traffic congestion at the Haudagain roundabout have just one week to run.
Details of the three options are on view at The Point, on Broad Street, until Saturday, May 24, and the deadline for responses is Friday, May 30.
Consultation were launched earlier this month with a series of public drop-in sessions in community centres near the roundabout. The public sessions are part of the on-going assessment of ways of improving traffic flows through the busy A90/A96 junction, which suffers from heavy traffic movements between the west and south as it forms the key link between the A90 and the A96.
The work is being taken forward by Aberdeen City Council, the regional transport partnership Nestrans and the national transport agency Transport Scotland.
Three potential options are on public view:
- creation of a new signal-controlled link road connecting North Anderson Drive and Auchmill Road to provide a new route for traffic; the existing roundabout would be retained;
- creation of a new link road, as above; alteration of the existing roundabout to form a signalised junction; realignment of the Mugiemoss Road railway bridge; upgrading Mugiemoss Road to a dual carriageway between Haudagain and the Persley Bridge/Mugiemoss Road roundabout;
- creation of an enlarged Haudagain roundabout slightly west of the existing; build a new Mugiemoss Road railway bridge; realign and dual Mugiemoss Road from Haudagain to the Persley Bridge/Mugiemoss Road roundabout; no North Anderson Drive/Auchmill Road link road.
Each of these options would require a Third Don Crossing to be in place as an integral part of the solution.
The public consultations are designed to give people and organisations the chance to have their say on the options for this strategic junction. Local folk have also had the chance to judge whether the options meet their expectations for improving the area in terms of the emerging Middlefield regeneration proposals.
The exhibition is now at The Point information centre, Mon-Sat, 19-24 May, during the following opening hours:
- May 19 and 20, 10am-5.30pm;
- May 21 and 23, 8.30am-5.30pm;
- May 22, 8.30am-6.30pm;
- May 24, 10am-1pm.
A contact telephone number is on display for people wanting to speak to staff and a questionnaire is available to allow people to provide feedback. Completed forms can be dropped in a box at The Point or posted back in the pre-paid envelope provided. The questionnaire can also be completed online on the City Council’s website.
Information packs showing the material on display are on hand for people to take away and study.
The information has also been made available to a range of stakeholders, including community groups, the emergency services, individual businesses, freight transport and public transport organisations, cycle groups, disability groups and business organisations. They are also being urged to submit their views.
Nestrans Chair Councillor Kevin Stewart said: "This consultation represents one of the final stages of the study work and takes us a big step closer to finally resolving the Haudagain problem. The city council's commitment to a third Don crossing means the three options up for final consultation can meet all the objectives of the project.
"What we need to do now is identify the option that best meets those objectives, and I hope everyone with an interest in the issue takes the opportunity to have their say.
"Following the consultation we'll be looking to make a final decision as quickly as possible, then press the Scottish Government for the investment to make this much-needed project happen."
A links to all the information about the Haudagain options and to the questionnaire is on the front page of the City Council’s website at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk .
The latest round of consultations follows a similar initiative in July and August 2006 on a wider range of options for improving the junction as part of the Scottish Executive’s Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) process.
The opinion-gathering exercise was held in conjunction with parallel consultations on proposals for the Middlefield Regeneration Masterplan and resulted in a good response from the public and a large number of suggestions for improvement. The specialist transport consultants were then able to narrow down the range of options to those listed above, which are now being considered in more detail.
The three options have since been taken forward to the STAG 2 appraisal stage, which began in March 2007 and is being funded by Nestrans. This has involved a more detailed assessment of costs, preliminary designs, environmental impacts, phasing of the work, the implications for Middlefield regeneration, and measures to accommodate public transport, cyclists and pedestrians.
The STAG process is a necessary and robust set of procedures, including public consultations, which have to be completed before decisions can be made on the best option for any major roads project.
The final report will be drafted once the consultation is complete and will be reported to the City Council and Nestrans as soon as possible thereafter.
If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 08456 080910.
