A bus priority route has been created in Market Street/Guild Street east/Bridge Street south which means a new road layout and traffic restrictions.
The new road layout will help to reduce travel times for buses in the city centre which will in turn encourage more people to use sustainable or active travel, which is one of the goals of the City Centre Masterplan.
The new road layout includes:
Access continues to car parks in the city centre;
Motorists can still get to destinations, just by using a different route than they’re used to;
Bicycles, taxis, and goods vehicles can use the bus priority route;
Bus gates and lanes have been created on Union Street/Market Street (between its junctions with Hadden St and the Adelphi), the east side of Guild Street, and on Bridge Street;
There is a ban on turning right from Union Terrace to Rosemount Viaduct (except for buses, taxis, and cycles), and Schoolhill will remain a pedestrian and cycle zone from Back Wynd to Flourmill Lane, with motor vehicle access only permitted for loading from 4.30pm to 11am;
Motorists are asked to plan their journey in advance to take account of the new road layout.
Alternative routes for general traffic are the B983 (Denburn Road, Wapping Street, College Street, South College Street), Palmerston Place, the A956 (North Esplanade West, Market Street, Trinity Quay, Virginia Street and Commerce Street). The new South College Street junction improvements were also built to provide extra capacity for general traffic and an alternative route.
The new route will also minimise the amount of general traffic on Market Street (north of Guild Street), Guild Street (east of Wapping Street), and Bridge Street by stopping traffic from using these streets as through-routes.
The new South College Street junction improvements, which received £10million of Scottish Government funding, were delivered to provide extra capacity for general traffic and an alternative route ahead of the new bus priority route being introduced.
The bus priority route was agreed at a meeting of the Full Council in June 2022 as part of the City Centre Masterplan to encourage sustainable and active travel in the city centre.
Several videos have been made showing some suggested routes for motorists to avoid the city centre bus gates as the bus gate and bus lane enforcement has come into effect. Please be mindful of the signage when accessing the city centre.
- King Street to Market Street passing Union Square
- Queen Elizabeth Bridge Wapping Street drive to Guild Street passing the Trinity Centre car park
- Westburn Rd to Bon Accord Shopping centre car park passing Gallowgate car park
- Westburn Road to Aberdeen Beach