Wellington Road: Public Feedback on STAG Part 2 Appraisal

Overview

Aberdeen City Council is working with Nestrans to identify ways of improving Wellington Road (A956) for all transport users.

In accordance with the Scottish Government’s ‘Sustainable Travel Hierarchy’ and our net zero carbon and air quality obligations, a key focus of the study is walking, cycling and public transport improvements. However, as Wellington Road is a Priority Route in the revised North East Scotland Roads Hierarchy, any changes also need to support the efficient movement of road traffic, including freight vehicles travelling to and from the harbour areas.

Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) is the process we are required to follow to identify the transport improvements that best meet the needs of all users. We are now at the final appraisal stage (Part 2 Appraisal) which requires Detailed Appraisal of the options against a range of criteria. This follows completion of the ‘Case for Change’ (2015) and Part 1 Appraisal (2018).

The Case for Change identified:

• The main problems and opportunities relating to Wellington Road;
• Objectives for the study, setting out what we would like to achieve; 
• A long list of options for meeting these objectives and addressing the problems and opportunities; and
• The most promising options to take forward to Part 1 Appraisal.

During Part 1 Appraisal the options recommended in the Case for Change report were assessed against:

• The objectives;
• The STAG Criteria (environment, safety, economy, integration and accessibility & social inclusion); and
• Deliverability, affordability and public acceptability.

The Part 1 Appraisal concluded that 8 options should be taken forward for detailed (Part 2) appraisal:

1. Strategic Cycle Improvements;
2. Shared Bus/HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) lane;
3. Souterhead Roundabout Improvements + More/Better Crossings at Souterhead Roundabout;
4. Hareness Roundabout Improvements + More/Better Crossings at Hareness Roundabout;
5. Additional Capacity between Souterhead and Hareness Roundabouts;
6. Upgrade to Dual Carriageway at Former HM Craiginches Prison Site;
7. Wellington Road Bus Quality Package; and
8. Wellington Road Corridor Right-Turn/Traffic Signals Priorities Review Package.

During Part 2 Appraisal, these options were expanded into 16 possible changes to Wellington Road, and then combined into 3 option ‘packages’: an Active Travel Package, a Public Transport Package and a Multi-Modal Travel and Transport Package.  

Further information on the study and the option packages can be found in the ‘Wellington Road Information Pack’ – a link to this is at the bottom of the page. There are also links to plans and visualisations of the different  packages for you to view. We recommend that you download and look through these before answering the survey questions.

Why your views matter

In this questionnaire we aim to:

• Give you an idea of what each of the packages might look like;
• Outline some of the pros and cons of each of the packages; and
• Get your views on which of the options you think would bring the most benefits to people using Wellington Road.

We presented emerging options for the study in December 2020. Since this time, a preferred option for access to the new Aberdeen South Harbour has been identified. This has allowed us to further develop the Wellington Road option packages to ensure that they complement the proposed new harbour improvements, and we are pleased to come back to you now with more detailed information. 

The feedback we receive on the option packages will be fed ino the final appraisal work and will help us identify the preferred package of options for improving Wellington Road.

This will allow us to complete the appraisal work in May 2021, and report the outcomes to the Council's City Growth and Resources Committee in June 2021.

What happens next

The feedback we receive on the option packages will be fed ino the final appraisal work and will help us identify the preferred package of options for improving Wellington Road.

This will allow us to complete the appraisal work in May 2021, and report the outcomes to the Council's City Growth and Resources Committee in June 2021.