The Aberdeen business community has come out strongly in support of plans to pedestrianise central Union Street in a new poll published today.
Almost 80% of members surveyed by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce said they were in favour of the proposals, which would see a 300-metre stretch of the street transformed into vehicle-free plaza where café culture can flourish.
The section - between Bridge Street and Market Street - was closed to traffic during the pandemic and the city council had hoped to make the move permanent to encourage businesses back on to the city’s main thoroughfare.
However, earlier this year councillors voted to reopen this part of Union Street to buses, taxis and bicycles. The issue is expected to be debated at the next full meeting of Aberdeen City Council.
The backing of Chamber members comes as the city centre business improvement district, Aberdeen Inspired, launches a campaign urging residents to show their support for the proposals ahead of the local elections on Thursday.
Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, said the group has a mandate from the majority of its levy payers and is leading calls to new and re-elected councillors “not to miss a major opportunity to revitalise our city centre”.
He said: “Many of our levy payers agree that proper pedestrianisation of the 300m stretch of Union Street from Bridge Street to Market Street would pave the way for renewed investment, bring businesses back to that part of our main street and encourage the café culture we have enjoyed during the pandemic to grow and prosper.”
However, concerns about the impact the plans will have on accessibility remain. An earlier poll of passengers by First Bus found that more than 83% of respondents agreed that they would like to see a return to bus services along the length of Union Street, and that 63% indicated they were not prepared to have an increased bus journey time in order to have a pedestrianised section of road space.
The Chamber’s flash poll showed that while 22% of the business community remain unsure of the plan, mainly over access concerns and the knock-on effect for neighbouring roads like Guild Street, a huge 78% majority want to see the vision delivered.
Mr Watson said concerns about accessibility could – and must – be addressed, citing other major locations which have successfully pedestrianised their town and city centres.
“These barriers have been overcome in every other major city in the UK and we need to work together to find viable solutions – but this is an opportunity to halt the decline of our city centre that we simply cannot afford to miss.
“There are already exciting developments coming with the redevelopment of Union Terrace Gardens and the old BHS store and indoor market, which are all key to the wider City Centre Masterplan, and many of our levy payers and other partners believe there is huge potential to extend these to create a vibrant new area in the heart of our city centre.
“As we go to the polls this week for the local government elections, we encourage supporters to make their views known and we look forward to working with the new elected members to drive continued change for our city centre.”
Click here to view a Press & Journal video showing what the city centre could look like if regeneration plans are delivered.
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce surveyed its membership database via email between 8.30 on April 27th and Noon on April 28th. A total of 221 responses were received. 165 people (78.2%) said they were in favour of the plans, while 46 (21.8%) said they were against.