Pressure on Parking

Loving - as we do here at Aberdeen Cars - all things American, we very often read the New York Times for updates from 'across the pond'. So we were utterly horrified to read this article: "Europe Stifles Drivers in Favor of Alternatives" which details the cancer of "pedestrianization" which is creeping across continental Europe. Like us, the NYT adopts an incredulous tone in its reportage of some of the madcap antics of the Europeans:

...With politicians and most citizens still largely behind them, Zurich’s planners continue their traffic-taming quest...

The article cites a study "European Parking U-Turn Reaps Rewards", which details the growth of parking restrictions in the centres of some continental European cities and the way the way in which:

...European cities are reaping the rewards of innovative parking policies, including revitalized town centers; big reductions in car use; drops in air pollution and rising quality of urban life.

Well, thank goodness we don't have to put up with that sort of nonsense here in Aberdeen where extra new car-parking facilities in the city centre are rolled out on a continuous basis. For employees on their way to another vital day of spreadsheet-wrangling-of-national-importance in their tasteful cubicles, there's the company underground carpark. Recent developemnts at the IQ on Justice Mill Lane and Union Plaza on Union Row have seen the roll-out of well over a thousand of these employer-subsidised places, and we've noticed cheeky new underground carparks appearing on Diamond Street, Huntly Street, Langstane Place, underground Union Street (access from Union Row), Windmill Brae, The Green, Castlegate, Shiprow, Queen's Lane, John Street, Queen's Street, oh and probably other super-secret spots too. We particularly like the way that the lower-ground floor of the impressive Lloyds Register building on Union Terrace is now a car-park accessed from Diamond Street. You'd never tell from the listed Union Terrace frontage! Super-Secret!

But let's not forget about consumers! They are the source of all economic growth, and so must be coddled frictionlessly (and without going outside if at all possible) from their TV-lounge to shopping mall point-of-sale. Therefore, we're delighted to report that, since the opening of the Union Square shopping centre with it's extensive indoor multi-story parking facilities (1700 spaces - park all evening and night for just £1) there is an oversupply of covered-in consumer parking in central Aberdeen, with the variable matrix signs (strategic locations around the city centre) rarely showing less than 3000 spaces available to the all-important consumer.

We're proud and inspired that this policy of over-provision of parking space in the city centre is being pioneered here in Aberdeen - yes, that's the carrot, but we also like the stick. In order to encourage the good drivers of nice Aberdeen Cars to take those lovely cars all the way into the city centre and make use of all the high-quality new parking spaces, we note the spread of under-provision in some out-of-town shopping destinations.

For instance, at the Danestone Tesco, just take a look at these absurdly small spaces occupied by the driver of Aberdeen Car Range Rover V8 "Supercharged Autobiography" (oooooh!) reg SV60OBY, with it's 5 litre engine:

With thanks to citizen contributer "Iain" who hit the citizen contribution hot-link and emailed aberdeencars@gmail.com to provide us with this image. As "Iain" says:

An adept parking maneuver, cleverly taking up two spaces with a cheeky yet skilful diagonal placement. Perhaps an oblique (excuse the pun) comment on the absurdly small parking spaces that so-called planners are providing these days?

Yes, at first you might think this is a sinister anti-car policy. But we think that it's actually rather clever and subtle. We think that the planners know what they're doing here and that this is part of the strategy - we all want urban renewal, don't we? We all have our qualms about the growth of out-of-town shopping, isn't that so? By their provision of these absurdly small parking spaces, the town planners are looking to encourage the uptake of driving cars like these into the very heart of the city centre where there are plenty suitable parking spaces. Traffic flows in the centre of town demonstrate vibrancy and if the cars are really really nice, like this one, we can be proud to look on the busy roads of our town centre as demonstrating that ours is a city on the up-and-up. A city with "bustle". A city that's going somewhere, and knows where it's going - it's going shopping! Without wearing a coat!

More, more! Faster, faster!

That's why we look forward very much to the forthcoming City Square Project which, via the gift of comprehensive redevelopment, will contribute to the continuous improvement of the motoring environment in central Aberdeen by it's provision of several hundred new, high quality, secure, underground parking spaces in the space currently occupied by useless, hated, Union Terrace Gardens.

Some say that the gardens are not the problem, and that the Dual Carrageway should be 're-allocated' for pedestrian use, but we say: "What's wrong with you? Are you too poor to afford a nice car, then?".

If you own a nice Aberdeen Car and like driving it in the city centre; if you want to fight back against the sinister forces of roadspace re-allocation; if you just hate cyclists and pedestrians; or if you think that Global Warming is an EU conspiracy you should join our campaign to "Save the Denburn Dual Carriagway!" (Like us on FaceBook, follow us on Twitter)

Worrying Statistics

We read with horror, disbelief, shock and fear that pedal-cycle numbers are on the sharp increase in Aberdeen. Latest figures from vegetarian war-on-the-motorist support group Aberdeen Cycle Forum show that year on year cycling in Aberdeen has increased by 18%.


Somebody once said that the misunderstanding of exponential growth is one of society's greatest problems, so let us spell that out for you...

You might be unconcerned: "A growth of 18% on top of what is a very low figure anyway need hardly trouble the busy and superior drivers of Aberdeen Cars" - we hear you say. But, an 18% year on year growth leads to a doubling period of just 4 years. Can you imagine? Double the amount of cyclists on our streets by 2015. And double that again by 2019. At this rate, the amount of cycling in Aberdeen "City and Shire" will reach and maybe even surpass our government's stated target of 10% of journeys in Scotland to be undertaken by bike by 2020. And to think, in our complacency the drivers of Aberdeen Cars once labeled this 10% target far-fetched and unrealistic, choosing instead to look forward to the certainty that zero-emission motor transport will be ubiquitous by the time the Aberdeen bypass opens in 2012.

We have been asleep at the wheel (not just taking photos from behind it) and have allowed the grass to grow beneath our tyres - our local press reports that motor traffic on our major city routes is at its lowest for years and years. In some cases motor traffic levels have dropped to a paltry volume not seen since 1995. Frightening - it is as if the ground has opened up beneath our sump-pans.

And into this vacuum the cyclists have swarmed like vermin. We think this sends out all the wrong messages about Aberdeen "City and Shire": It says we are a city and region that does not value its ability to buy really nice cars; it says we are a city that couldn't care less about economic growth. What with all those people cycling around Aberdeen these days rather than use their lovely big cars, the place is looking a bit like DSS-land or StudentVille or something.

That's why it's vital that we do everything we can to fight back - to support the planned road improvements which will draw more drivers in more cars into the heart of the city centre and park in the lovely new underground car park which the City Gardens Project has planned for us adjacent to our favourite piece of urban infrastructure - the Denburn Dual Carriageway. The measures which will support this are the Berryden Corridor Improvements, the Aberdeen Bypass, the Haudagain Improvements and our continued resistance to the pedestrianisation of Union Street.

But most importantly, it is vital that we do everything we can to "Save the Denburn Dual Carriageway!" Join our popular common-sense campaign to put roads and road planning and road users at the heart of city planning - where we belong! ('like' us on FaceBook, 'follow' us on Twitter)

Railway "Aspiration" for Peterhead

Crisis news in today's Press and Journal where the momentum for 'restoring' the railway branch line to Peterhead appears to be growing. This deplorably backward bunch of trainspotters are getting in the way of the development of new dormitory suburbs at Cruden Bay. The full realisation of this development of lovely new aspirational homes for cubicle clones high value human resource operatives who work in Aberdeen's nationally important and burgeoning spreadsheet wrangling make-work energy sector (which is supported by high oil prices, themselves sustained by the necessity to commute 50 miles) is being stymied by the need to keep rail corridors as if they were sacrosanct.

According to the report an Aberdeenshire council official said:

“The policy identifies unused railway lines as ‘safeguard sites’ where they may contribute to the development and delivery of the modern transport system ... A Peterhead railway line remains as an aspiration in the North East of Scotland Transport Partnership (Nestrans) strategy."

This is backed up by local website PeterheadOnline.com who say:

The provision of rail would likely be a greater attractor for trips to and from Aberdeen and may result in a larger Aberdeen commuter-based community in the area. Any provision for rail should also recognise the potential for rail freight and road-rail transfer at Peterhead.

The possibility of bringing trains back to Peterhead was first suggested in a Scottish Executive study in 2003.

Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, welcomed the recommendations.

He said: “I think that the north-east is one of the last corners of Scotland where there is genuine potential railway in the future.”

And, indeed, the NESTRANS quango is the source of all this twee regard for rail and rail-buffs, for in their Regional Transport Strategy to 2021 document there's lots of talk of restoring railway lines which Dr Beeching so sensibly axed in favour of the freedom and joy of the motor car back in the 1960's. The Peterhead line closed in 1979.

All nonsense, of course. Everyone knows that what is needed is a nice new dual carriageway between Peterhead and Ellon; just like these sensible Facebook folk advocate on their page "Vote for a Dual Carriageway - Peterhead/Ellon Road". We like this page, because as well as the sensible calls from the drivers of Aberdeen (City and Shire) Cars for a new dual carriageway, it also contains some brilliant instances of that most Aberdonian of pastimes - taking photos while driving.

We hadn't heard of the Peterhead/Ellon Dual Carriageway Facebook pressure group before today, so we're delighted that we are not alone in using Facebook to promote the interests of those who support dual carriageways in Aberdeen City and Shire. Support our campaign to Save the Denburn Dual Carriageway. 'Like' us on FaceBook, 'Follow' us on Twitter.

Not all of these campaigns are successful. The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route page on Facebook is currently a bit unloved and unliked.

Save the Denburn Dual Carriageway.

Plans to remove forever our Heritage Dual Carriageway at Denburn Road have been published on hippy blog Other Aberdeen.

This is what they want our Heritage Dual Carriageway to become.

Honestly, we don’t know why they don’t just re-title this blog ‘Anti-Car Rant’, for that’s all it is in various disguises. The truth they avoid recognising is that most people aspire to the convenience of personal motor transport, pay dearly for the privilege, provide much employment, contribute greatly in taxes, and then people like them expect them to ‘leave the car at home’, while their money is spent creating cycle lanes and the like for freeloading cyclists, who then don’t use them, much preferring the ‘sharing’ of pavements with pedestrians.

It. Makes. Our. Blood. Boil.

Support our Join our campaign to Save the Denburn Dual Carriageway. 'Like' us on FaceBook, 'Follow' us on Twitter.

A Major Step Forward. For the Railways!

As if to demonstrate how backward this region is, today we hear that a £200 million is to be spent on that most outmoded, backward and 19th century mode of transport, the railway. There is even to be a brand new station in Kintore - ugh! (We won't use it, we'll just keep on driving into Aberdeen to demonstrate our high level of prestige.)

Outmoded

Backward

19th Century

As hard pressed motorists, the drivers of Aberdeen Cars must languish, ignored and unloved by the authorities; never knowing when our Bypass is going to be built, suffering constant traffic woes at the Haudagain Roundabout (the second-worst roundabout in Britain) and coping with the stress of knowing that our Heritage Dual Carriagway at Denburn Road is under threat. (Join our campaign to Save the Denburn Dual Carriageway. 'Like' us on FaceBook, 'Follow' us on Twitter.)

If we're not careful - Aberdeen will end up looking like this.

So yes, too much stress placed upon the shoulders - however broad they are - of the drivers of Aberdeen Cars, upon who's consumption of North Sea oil the UK economic recovery depends. It is time for our governments in Edinburgh and London to waken up to the national significance of what is at stake and to support Aberdeen Cars - support the Bypass (no matter how many deer must die), support the Haudagain Roundabout Improvements (no matter how many lower-income families will be made homeless at Middlefield) and stop investing in 'trendy' foreign forms of transport like railways, cycling and walking. You'd think that we were in continental Europe the way thinks are going!

Absurd Speed Limits

During the ceaseless work we've been doing on behalf of the campaign to save the Denburn Dual Carrageway ('like' us on FaceBook, 'follow' us on Twitter) - thus saving Aberdeen's heritage as the last town to give in to the green spin that that urban dual carriageways are not an unalloyed good - we've discovered a few disturbing facts that we didn't know before...

By far the most disturbing thing we've found out is that there is a 30mph speed limit on this stretch of road. This is just weird. Why isn't the limit 50?

At least this WVM seems to be traveling at speed as he engages in work of
national importance on our Heritage Dual Carrageway.
We want to see much more of this.

Another example is North Esplanade West, by the Dee river between Victoria Bridge and the Queen Elizabeth Bridge.

From the North East Safety Camera [sic] Partnership (NESCAP):

These are some of the roads in Aberdeen which are dual carriageways but still have a 30mph speed limit. Please note that this list is not exhaustive:

• North Esplanade West
• Market Street (Trinity Quay to Victoria Bridge)
• Virginia Street
• Commerce Street
• East North Street
• West North Street
• Beach Boulevard
• Causewayend
• Ellon Road (from Bridge of Don to North Donside Road
• Wellington Road (from QE2 Bridge to its junction near Greenwell Rd)
• Great Northern Rd (from Printfield Walk to near Deer Rd)
• Auchmill Rd (through Bucksburn )

It's no small wonder that the Denburn Dual Carriageway is so woefully underused when this arbitrary and absurd upper speed limit is put on the responsible drivers of Aberdeen Cars who are in the best position to decide what's a suitable speed to be driving at. We say abolish the limit and let the motorist decide - that'll soon get our heritage roads used to their full potential delivering eager shoppers to our city's prime retail real estate to generate some much-needed economic growth (and get some 'retail therapy' into the bargain!).

There's one crumb of comfort in the NESCAP statement: "These are some of the roads in Aberdeen which are dual carriageways but still have a 30mph speed limit...". Yes. It's that use of the word "still". This suggests that even speed-camera boosters NESCAP agree with us that 30mph is old-fashioned and should be phased out. Their use of the word "still" suggests that this too is their aspiration. After all, they are drivers of Aberdeen Cars too, aren't they?

Pampered Cyclists on Aberdeen's Urban Dual Carriageways

We've had about enough of this. Everywhere we look there is evidence that Aberdeen's cyclists are being pampered. Our esteemed local press was right to point out that the cyclists of Aberdeen "City and Shire" are a pampered breed.

And so it continues: this is what we have to put up with, this scandalous use of resources, this waste of road-space, the road space we've paid for.

Pampered cyclists!

All the more worrying is that this Aberdeen's South College Street, our most recently-completed urban dual-carriageway and a key feeder-road to our cause célèbre campaign: the threatened Denburn Road heritage dual carriageway. Which we have formed a pressure group to lobby the powers-that-be to save ('like' us on FaceBook, 'follow' us on Twitter). If cars can't get to the Denburn 'dualler' because of the dog-in-a-manger cyclits getting in our busy important way, then the dark forces of re-assignment might take it away from us.

We cannot let that happen!

I Dig UTG.

I 'dig' UTG!

We're beginning to gain more of a professional footing now with our popular campaign to to "Save the Denburn Dual Carriageway!" ('like' us on FaceBook, 'follow' us on Twitter). We're gaining more followers every day!

Of course, as we've pointed out, saving our the Denburn Heritage Dual Carriageway (which is part of our city's Heritage Inner City Ring-road), necessitates the destruction of the city's Union Terrace Gardens. Hay, you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs!

So, to celebrate the forthcoming desecration of the gardens to make way for the much needed car-park, we've had this brutally honest tee-shirt created:



The beauty of creating this teeshirt via fulfillment house "Zazzle", is that it's a doddle - anyone can do it, takes about 5 minutes. Not only that, it also demonstrates a provocative disregard for the nimby tree-hugging naysayers who think that grass and flowers are more important than parking spaces. This'll rile them!

Yay! Hud'at nimbys!

I think everyone will agree that this lends our campaign to realise Sir Ian Woods' 'vision' for Aberdeen City centre a professional and mature aspect which was hitherto missing. We have contacted him and his supporters at local enterprise forum ACSEF to ask what he and they think. We've also asked Aberdeen City Council whether they'd like to sell the tees at council tax collection points across the city. We're sure they'll all be delighted by our initiative!

You can't make an omelette...

Without breaking eggs...

The Silent Majority wants to Save Our Heritage.

It can be tough going at times, trying to motivate the silent majority: continually issuing rallying cries to our silent silent supporters in aid of our campaign to "Save the Denburn Dual Carriageway!" ('like' us on FaceBook, 'follow' us on Twitter).

A woefully underused urban asset.
Part of our heritage under threat.
What can YOU do to help?

We take our obligations on behalf our our huge but largely silent support very seriously; the job has a high profile and entails real responsibility. As part of what we do, sometimes - like over the last few weeks - it's been necessary to report on the threats to not only the Denburn Dual Carriageway but also our worries about the other road projects which we hold dear in Aberdeen "City and Shire". It's upsetting work - we have to look at things which nobody should have to look at and read proposals nobody should have to read - but somebody's got to do it. One of the dangers of this type of work is that it can skew your perspective - turn you paranoid - you begin to see cyclits and pestestrians literally everywhere, murmering their creed of "reallocation".

But, we've had a nice weekend - got the car parked directly outside the house so we could look at it whenever we wanted to (comforting) and so we settled down to count our blessings. We noticed that our local MP, Dame Anne Begg, tweeting furiously that the AWPR Aberdeen Bypass is still a party priority, despite all sorts of anti-bypass misinformation promoted by our Dundee-based local press. And we also comforted ourselves with these thoughts:

Don't worry - we'll fix this
medieval aberration on the A90.

Firstly, the work which will complete the A90 Trunk Road Anderson Drive "Ring Road".

• The forthcoming improvements to the historic Bridge of Dee (it's recent de-scheduling as a Scheduled Ancient Monument opens the way to its significant modification and widening as part of the A90 trunk road)
• The improvements to the Haudagain Roundabout at the A90 A96 junction - a flyover? An underpass? Exciting! One things for sure, some social housing full of unemployed people and students will be bulldozed to make way for it. Good.

Inner Ring Road

Secondly, the work which will complete the "Inner-City Ring Road".

• The Berryden Corridor
• The Link to Great Northern Road
• Some stuff to do with buses at Powis Terrace

Thirdly, and most excitingly, the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route - The Aberdeen Bypass itself. Still a priority for Dame Anne Begg MP, and MSP candidate Gregg Williams of the Labour Party. This will be a motorway. Sort of.

So, yes. Soon Aberdeen will be a city which has not one, not two, but three - yes three ring-roads. Two of these will be thrilling urban-dual-carriageways, and the third will be a motorway. Fabulous!

At last we can see the future - the future our forefathers envisaged in the 1952 Local Plan - a future full of cars busily speeding about on our three ring-roads creating economic growth for the whole country. By heaven it'll have taken a long time to get there - but it'll be worth it. The future IS what it used to be. These retro-modern transport plans are cutting edge. They say that if you wait long enough, fashions come round again. That means that Aberdeen is avant-garde.

Some say that these mid-20th century plans now reaching implementation are now out of place and unsustainable against the dark background of resource depletion and climate change. They say that the effort would be better expended getting Aberdeen "City and Shire" hooked up to next-generation fibre-optic high-speed broadband, but we don't really know what that means, so we ignore these calls. They say that the future can only be assured by the up-to-datedness of the fastest possible 21st century internet connectivity - but we think they don't know what connectivity means. The growth-generating drivers of Aberdeen Cars are only interested in the sort of connectivity which dual-carriageways and motorways can provide! High speed traffic flow! Now that's connectivity!

Soon enough, our city centre will be regenerated by efficient traffic flow delivering large numbers of high-speed drivers into the city-centre at a higher rate than ever before. More car-parks will be definitely be needed. And so our beloved Denburn heritage Dual Carriageway will saved for future generations. Hooray!

Kill KIIIILLLLL KIIIIILLLLLLLL!!!!

Kill them all if you love your car!

But what of the carbon emissions? Well, we all know that global warming is just a conspiracy theory to to make motorists feel guilty - yes, a myth put about by jealous hippy types who envy our lovely cars (and, as pointed out by our mentors at Bristol Traffic, what about all the carbon emissions caused by the manufacture of too many cycle helmets and high visibility jackets, eh?). But anyway - whatever! - we draw their sting with the Granite City Forest project. This project sort-of offsets the expected increase in carbon emissions by 'planting a tree for every citizen' and necessitates the slaughter of all the deer on Tullos hill.

Good. These spongeing animals do not contribute to economic growth. About these useless roe deer we care not a jot - they are in the way of our plans for dual carriageways and motorways. They deserve to die. Will we get to eat them?

So it's time for the silent majority to stand up and be counted, and hopefully encourage others to do the same. If you love your cars, if you love driving you MUST spread the word:

'Like' us on FaceBook, 'Follow' us on Twitter.

Use It or Lose It!

"Use it or lose it", they say. At least that's what's said in support of the redevelopment of Aberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens. They say the gardens are unloved. They say they are underused, they say they are inaccessible. And so they will redevelop Union Terrace Gardens.

Well, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and, we're sorry to say that despite our popular campaign to to "Save the Denburn Dual Carriageway!" ('like' us on FaceBook, 'follow' us on Twitter) this splendid urban asset remains woefully underused and at threat from those who would re-assign road-space to pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, unicylists, clowns and the like when the Aberdeen Bypass is build in 2012.

That photo was taken on Saturday lunchtime. While the rest of the town was heaving with busy keen shoppers, eager to spend their wages in support of economic growth, our city's urban highway lay deserted. Unused and unloved. It's a shame. (No pavements, though - just the way we like it. Reminds us of Houston.)

It all started in 1992 with such high hopes. Aberdeen "City and Shire" nailed it's colours to the mast with a plaque commemorating the work to improve the lot of the drivers of Aberdeen Cars in the city centre. We are not aware of any other city putting urban dual carriageway building so close to the centre of civic life. That's a granite plinth. That's a bronze plaque. It makes us proud. [sniff]


But, it's not like the old days, and unless we can make sure that Union Terrace Gardens is turned into a car-park so that induced demand for car journeys into town fills up the dual carriageway, the motor-centric policies of the past will remain but a fond memory. And unless we can improve accessibility to the Denburn Dual Carriagway by making sure that the forthcoming Denburn Corridor urban dual carriageway is one project that delivers on budget, this next picture illustrates what we will have to look forward to:


Not only does the picture show a huge economically inactive greensward with trees swaying sickeningly in the breeze on BOTH sides of the denburn transport corridor, but it also shows people ON FOOT using the carriageways of both Denburn Road and Union Terrace. What was wrong with these people? Couldn't they afford a nice carriage? They remind us of today's student protests.

So are they perhaps Victorian anarchists? Prussian agitators intent on undermining the British Class System? Suicidal suffragette terrorists? Marxist revolutionaries?

Now, as then, vigilance will see us through these difficult times.

Where's the car-park?

We take our duties as activists working to "Save the Denburn Dual Carriageway!" very seriously. ('Like' us on FaceBook, 'follow' us on Twitter.) So we've been doing our research with great diligence.

Having been heartened by the sight of the large car-park shown in the feasibility study documents (big pdf) used to promote the "City Square Project" we were shocked to see the website being used to promote the project, now re-branded "City Gardens Project". We've looked long and hard and can find no mention of a car-park. There's talk of public transport links, pedestrian routes, buses and trains, but nothing about cars. What's going on?

Well, there's a crumb of comfort to grab hold of with open arms - the website says that the feasibility documents - which show the super big car park which we like so much - are "accurate". So, we have to assume that the lack of mention of the much needed carparking facilities - it's really hard to find a space when you go shopping - and the boosting of public transport and the other vegetarian-friendly transport options are just greenwash, pure and simple. Greenwash which is designed to appease the hippy artist-lovers who oppose the project and want to turn the Denburn Dual Carrageway into a cycle lane and bridleway.

But we know better, we know that the car-park remains! The Denburn Dual Carriageway is safe!

Thank Ford for that!

Locking in the Benefits. By taking them away?

As part of the work of national importance which we do here at Aberdeen Cars we have been passed the "AWPR - Locking in the Benefits" document which was written by the nimby naysayers at NESTRANS. This made us worry. Worry on behalf of our followers who, like all drivers of Aberdeen Cars, want to "Save the Denburn Dual Carriagway!" ('Like' us on FaceBook, 'follow' us on Twitter.)

Nooooo!

Part of this document relates to the "reallocation" of roadspace away from motorists in favour of buses, trains and bicycles and other measures to discourage the use of cars; improved facilities for cyclists and pedestrians and all sorts of other such airy-fairy nonsense for vegetarians.

As everyone knows, the only way to ensure future prosperity for Aberdeen "City and Shire" is to "go for growth" by putting more cars on more roads, then sit back and watch the economy rip! So, we're scared, yes - terrified - that the underuse of the Denburn Dual Carrageway (which we already identified) will lead to its "reallocation" under the NESTRANS fig-leaf of "Locking in the Benefits" once the Aberdeen bypass is open in 2012. Use it or lose it!

And then there's the "Tunnels Vision for Aberdeen Transport".

"Underground tunnels for buses and trams could be built in Aberdeen as part of plans which would see vehicles banned from three of the city’s busiest streets."

When we first heard about these tunnels we were delighted. But then we saw those words "...vehicles banned from three of the city's streets". They just don't get it, these "men of vision" do they? These proposals for extra futuristic road space shouldn't be "instead of" they should be "as well as". And so, they plan to give with one hand. Motorways, tunnels, relief roads. And take away with another. Road space reallocated to pedestrians, cyclists, trains.

That word "reallocation", frightening. Sounds a bit like "re-education" Mao-style. These war-on-the-motorist lefties are all the same.

A Super Big New Car Park!

This sends out the totally wrong message about Aberdeen.

As part of our duties as promoters of the "Save the Denburn Dual Carriagway!"  pressure group (like us on FaceBook, follow us on Twitter), we were passed this document (great big nasty PDF) which put our mind to rest a little bit about the redeveloment of Union Terrace Gardens and the prospects for saving the Denburn Dual Carriageway.

Deep within the document, we found this sight to gladden our eyes - this is what will replace that underused park in the city centre:

Ah, that's better!
That's the bottom deck.

Where the useless grass is at the moment.

As you can see from the pictures, plans for the development in Union Terrace Gardens include a lovely big new car park where we can put our nice cars when we go shopping.

That's the middle deck.
Where today the useless canopies of the trees wave stupidly in the breeze
contributing nothing to economic growth, soon we will see
lots of lovely cars.

We are very happy with this, as a great big carpark instead of the useless park will attract lots of traffic onto the Denburn Dual Carriageway, and make Aberdeen look all busy with lots of people in lovely cars going about their business on the bustling road. This will send out all the right messages.

However, when we looked at the "Schedule of Accommodation" for the proposed "City Square", we noted that 15,515 square metres of space out of a total of 56,505 are allocated for car-parking. That's 27.5%.

Yes. 27.5% of this new civic space is to be given over exclusively to car parking. We found this absolutely horrifying. It's not even nearly enough!

Edit:

Aha! Thanks for your comment, Julie. That's a step in the right direction, isn't it? What does Aberdeen "City and Shire" want with Artist-lovers when there's an urgent need for parking spaces?!

So, when all the space for the now abandoned Contemporary Arts Centre is rightly allocated to carparking space, then that gives us about 612 spaces; 19,380 square metres. That's 34% of the total.

Given the fact that other 'civic squares' in Aberdeen (like Golden Square) have allocated as much as 70% of their space to cars, this paltry 34% from the City Square Project still is simply not enough. They urgently need to re-think these plans if they are to save the Denburn Dual Carriageway.

They should listen to us. We are motorists. We have clout.

An Underused Urban Asset in Aberdeen

Take a look at that picture. The Denburn Valley. Our friends at Bristol Traffic have pointed out that there's the railway for poor people to use, the pavement for bins and vans and a proper road (the Denburn Dual Carriageway) for real people to use. But that's the problem! They're not using it! A lovely big road like that, and hardly any nice cars or vans using it.

What with all those people walking and cycling around Aberdeen these days rather than use the lovely big road, the place is looking a bit like DSS-land or StudentVille or something. This sends out all the wrong messages.

They say "use it or lose it" and, indeed, that's one of the arguments being used in support of the redevelopment of the neighbouring Union Terrace Gardens: that the green space is "rarely used", is a "pocket of market failure" and should therefore be turned into a shopping centre. Or something. And so an opportunity presents itself.

As part of the forthcoming exciting City Square Project in Union Terrace Gardens, we'd like to see a lovely new big thrilling car park included in the plans. This will attract lots of nice cars into the heart of the city centre and fill the Denburn Dual Carriageway full of busy bustling traffic. This will ensure that, to the visitor, Aberdeen "City and Shire" will look very much like a region on the up-and-up. A city that knows where it's going. It's going shopping!

Moreover, the creation of a super big new exciting car park in the heart of the city will, through induced demand, create a justification for the new Berryden Corridor Urban Dual Carriageway Development. See how it all fits together? It's a "no-brainer"!

Simples!

We have deliberately created a 'facebook page' to spearhead our campaign to save and enhance this underused urban asset in Aberdeen.