Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

MAPPED OUT: The major plans to remove cars from Aberdeen beach explained

The plans for Aberdeen beach would do away with a major piece of road, ending its use as a commuter run. Image: Aberdeen City Centre.
The plans for Aberdeen beach would do away with a major piece of road, ending its use as a commuter run. Image: Aberdeen City Centre.

Multi-million-pound plans to ban cars from much of Aberdeen beach could have a dramatic impact on surrounding roads.

The council’s masterplan for the waterfront has revealed the extent of the planned change.

It has led to fears about the loss of the Esplanade as a commuter route, still used by many travelling into Aberdeen from the north.

This autumn, Aberdeen City Council has launched two significant consultations on transformative plans for the city centre and beach.

And our readers have certainly not been shy in letting us know their thoughts.

On Saturday, citizens will have a third and final opportunity to learn more about the seafront proposals.

At the previous event, many of those who spoke to The P&J raised roads concerns.

Some frequently travelled to the beach for water sports, while nearby residents also voiced worries.

But another thing they complained about was the lack of awareness at what was being proposed.

Here they are: The Aberdeen beach roads plans

And so, here is the change suggested by roads planners in the hope of freeing up the beach area for people, not cars.

The plans for road changes around Aberdeen beach will spell an end to its commuter use. Image: Clarke Cooper/DC Thomson.
The plans for road changes around Aberdeen beach will spell an end to its commuter use. Image: Clarke Cooper/DC Thomson.

They hope to divert traffic onto King Street, the Parkway, Anderson Drive and the Aberdeen bypass instead.

The drive to encourage more to walk, cycle or take the bus has also been made apparent.

How will the council do this? Well, there are seven big alterations planners have brought forward.

The most drastic of these will completely change the face of the beach area.

Planners want to remove all traffic from the Esplanade between the Codona’s amusement park and Accommodation Road, down by the golf driving range.

Around the corner, vehicles would also be barred entry from the eastern section of the Beach Boulevard, from the Esplanade to Links Road.

That car ban is caveated to continue access for emergency and maintenance crews.

Changes planned for surrounding roads in push to get commuters out of Aberdeen city centre

Further up the Boulevard, the road could be altered to put the focus on active travel – walking, biking and wheeling – on the main route from the city centre to the beach.

However, vehicular access will still be permitted – and is essential to make the rest of the roads work around the seafront.

Residents and regular visitors worry the significant changes to the roads around Aberdeen beach have been missed by many looking at the spectacular images published by Aberdeen City Council.
Residents and regular visitors worry the significant changes to the roads around Aberdeen beach have been missed by many looking at the spectacular images published by Aberdeen City Council.

The planned closure of the central stretch of the Esplanade will force traffic to make more use of Links Road for local access.

To help with that, the council wants to build a new one-way street connecting Links Road to the Esplanade through Queens Links.

It’s mainly to improve accessibility, including disabled parking and another route for public transport.

At the Justice Street and Commerce Street end of the Boulevard, the roundabout could be replaced with crossroads.

This would be hoped to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Roads officials are also looking to introduce restrictions in Accommodation Road and Golf Road to stop the two smaller roads being used as rat-runs.

Instead, those heading in the direction of Aberdeen and the port will be encouraged to use King Street.

That road might also be subject to upheaval, with plans for alterations to traffic signals.

How can you have your say?

There have already been three consultation events on the seafront plans at the Beach Ballroom.

However, the public engagement continues online, where the boards from the in-person drop-in sessions are available to view.

The final chance for the public to their say, in-person, on the Aberdeen beach plans is on Saturday. Image: Wullie Marr/DC Thomson.
The final chance for the public to their say, in-person, on the Aberdeen beach plans is on Saturday. Image: Wullie Marr/DC Thomson.

The local authority has also shared in-depth briefings and high level planning briefs for the public to scrutinise.

Meanwhile, a separate consultation is also underway for the latest iteration of the city centre masterplan.

You can take part in that online here.

Conversation