DRAFT
Tilly-wood Street Design
Creating Liveable Neighbourhoods | 2018/2019 Main photo © K.I.S Photography
Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction Introduction
Community Analysis Community Analysis
Urban Analysis
Urban Analysis Parking and Loading Survey
Community Engagement Community Engagement Discover Stage Develop Stage Design Stage Display Stage
Behaviour Change
Behaviour Change Identified Barriers and Needs Recommended Measures
About Sustrans Sustrans is the charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle. We connect people and places, create liveable neighbourhoods, transform the school run and deliver a happier, healthier commute.
Design Development Design Development Discover Stage Develop Stage Design Stage Display Stage
Join us on our journey: www.sustrans.org.uk Follow us on: @SustransScot @SustransScotland
Revision Doc filename Sustrans Scotland Rosebery House 9 Haymarket Terrace Edinburgh EH12 5EZ
Concept Design
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Conclusion
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Appendix
Appendix 59
Š Sustrans February 2019 Registered Charity No. 326550 (England and Wales) SC039263 (Scotland) VAT Registration No. 416740656 Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
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Executive Summary “Tillydrone & Woodside have waited so long for a positive change and regeneration. With the artist wall spot down by the river people are now proud of their community and want to look after it. This is a fantastic opportunity.” Public comment
The Background Following community desire for change, Aberdeen City Council successfully applied to Sustrans in 2018 for a 12-month collaborative design process through the Street Design Programme. The project area focusses on Hayton Road and Don Street with the aim of making Tillydrone and Woodside a more attractive place to live, work and move around independently by strengthening the corridor between Great Northern Road and Tillydrone Avenue. The project was led by the Sustrans’ Street Design team, in partnership with Aberdeen City Council and in collaboration with the communities of Tillydrone and Woodside, during August 2018 and June 2019. The project has been guided by a Steering Group, made up of key community representatives, to sign off every stage of the process. The concept design will be handed over to the Steering Group for further development and approval in July 2019.
Tillydrone Community Campus Open Day © K.I.S Photography
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Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
This report ensures that the relevant partners have the information needed to progress the project to the next stage, developed design, and ultimately through to delivery. This report provides the background to and hands over the project outputs, which comprise: the concept design, a fully engaged community, recommendations on behaviour change measures and a projectspecific monitoring and evaluation framework. Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
The Analysis The project addresses local barriers to walking, cycling and wheeling in the local area, engages and empowers the local community, and co-designs infrastructure and behaviour change interventions that generate stronger social and physical connections. The designs presented in this report are underpinned by an evidence led approach that starts with community and urban analysis. Desktop research, stakeholder mapping and surveys were undertaken to understand the community, different demographics and identify stakeholders to involve in the process. Baseline data was collected and analysed while on street observations were made to understand people and vehicle movements within the study area and wider street environment
The Engagement The project team used an approach to street design called co-design with a unique four stage process: co-discover, co-develop, codesign and co-display. Over 3,000 people were engaged during this process through 38 events and activities which were altered and developed from lessons being learnt during the early engagement. Increasing attendance at events demonstrates a more engaged and empowered community from the co-design approach. Meaningful engagement has ensured the community has developed and refined the initial designs into a concept that meets the needs and aspirations of local people.
The Behaviour Change Alongside the co-design process, a behaviour change programme was conducted to identify and address the social and individual barriers that currently inhibit independent mobility and play. Various recommendations have been made to
address the identified barriers through tailored interventions developed specifically for the local community. As part of this, advice has also been given to ensure the community are able to access funding and support from organisations across Aberdeen to plan and deliver these interventions either in the short or long term.
The Design Development The concept design has been developed through a design development process, with the community and driven by data analysis, demonstrating an evidence-led approach. At each stage, the information and designs to be displayed publically were signed off by the project Steering Group. The designs produced are based on ideas for improvement and key themes, identified by and developed with the community early on. These were combined with a set of design objectives to steer and assess the initial designs through to a concept. The initial designs were displayed during a consultation process between March and April 2019 which reached 1,200 people and then refined with the feedback received between May and June 2019 before being showcased towards the end of June 2019. Further design work has been undertaken for Don Street Bridge following further feedback received and analysis undertaken.
design purpose and includes a range of benefits. For Don Street Bridge, an alternative design has also been presented should the preferred option not be delivered. Further recommendations have been provided to ensure the developed design stage takes these into consideration.
The Conclusion When developing the concept design further, the design objectives developed during early engagement should continue to be used to assess and evaluate the details. Further recommendations have also been provided to ensure the designs are developed in line with Sustrans Design Principles. While the Street Design element of the project has finished, Sustrans is still an active partner in the Tilly-Wood Street Design Project moving forward. Aberdeen City Council, in partnership with Sustrans, will prepare a report for submission to Committee in September 2019 to seek approval to develop the concept design further. If Committee approval is secured, Aberdeen City Council could then apply to Sustrans Scotland Places for Everyone Programme for funding to develop and deliver the Tilly-Wood Street Design Project concept design.
The Concept Design The concept design being handed over to Aberdeen City Council for further development includes: • General Arrangement Plan • Hayton Road Centre • Don Street Bridge • Hayton Road Gateway • Woodside Gateway • Hayton Road Underpass Each design section provides a different 5
Introduction Purpose of the Document This report concludes the concept design stage of the Tilly-Wood Street Design Project funded by the Scottish Government and led by Sustrans Scotland’s Street Design team, in partnership with Aberdeen City Council. It is intended to ensure that the relevant partners and stakeholders have the information to progress the project to the next stage, developed design, and ultimately through to delivery. This report provides the background to and hands over the project outputs, which comprise: the concept design, a fully engaged community, recommendations on behaviour change measures and a project-specific monitoring and evaluation framework. The report is essential reading for anyone wishing to take forward this project, in order to protect the integrity of the designs and to ensure that the level of community engagement remains meaningful from concept through to delivery and long term legacy. Thanks go to the project partners Aberdeen City Council, especially the Locality and Transportation teams for their continued role, as well as a massive thank you to the local community of Tillydrone and Woodside and supporting organisations across Aberdeen for their involvement throughout.
Introduction
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project 6
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Street Design Programme Funded by the Scottish Government, Sustrans’ Street Design projects work to bring communities together to help them re-imagine and re-design their streets and public spaces so that they are safer and more attractive places to live in and travel through. Over the years Street Design projects have demonstrated the following outcomes: Stronger communities: an increase in the sense of empowerment and willingness to be involved in local decision-making.
Chapter Summary: DD Following community desire for change, Aberdeen City Council successfully applied to Sustrans for a 12-month collaborative design process; DD The project has been guided by a Steering Group, made up of key community representatives, to sign off every stage of the process; and DD The concept design will be handed over to the Steering Group for further development and approval in July 2019. More walking, cycling and wheeling: within the project area and improved accessibility for people with disabilities. This is achieved by improving key routes, connecting local destinations and reducing traffic speeds and volumes. Better quality places: improved local perception of the safety, attractiveness and sociability of public spaces, including enhanced greenspace and freedom for children. Support the need for change: promotion of the project to a wider audience through social and traditional media, professional conferences and, in some cases, the winning of national awards.
Project Team The project team comes with a multidisciplinary skill set. We are engineers, urban designers, community engagement professionals, behaviour change experts and advocates who are working together to make local neighbourhoods better for people. By using our unique collaborative-design (co7
Study Area
design) approach, we start with local people and design from an understanding of their needs and aspirations.
The Living Streets project originally focussed on the Tillydrone area, specifically Hayton Road.
The team involved in delivering the project, in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, has been:
However, to accommodate the needs of new and existing developments within Tillydrone and Woodside, Aberdeen City Council has an ambition to provide safer and coherent links for those who walk, cycle and wheel to places of employment, education and leisure in both communities.
• Emily Davie, Project Lead • Emily Gait, Community Engagement Officer • Kasia Koziel, Behaviour Engagement Officer • JJ McGuckin, Urban Designer • Rene Lindsay, Senior Urban Designer
Project Background
The Tilly-Wood Street Design Project therefore focusses on Hayton Road and Don Street with the aim of making Tillydrone and Woodside a more attractive place to live, work and move around independently by strengthening the corridor between Great Northern Road and Tillydrone Avenue. Figure 1 below indicates the study area in relation to the wider city. The red boundary indicates the street environment for change while the blue boundary highlights potential placemaking opportunities.
Speedwatch Campaign
The project originally came from the community’s desire for change, identified through Aberdeen City Council’s Locality Plan 2017-27, Appendix A, which highlighted concerns around increasing traffic speed and volume within the local area.
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This led to Aberdeen City Council’s Localities team, based in Tillydrone, successfully submitting an application to Sustrans Street Design Programme for a 12-month collaborative design process.
Project Governance
Between July 2018 and June 2019, the Street Design team worked in partnership with Aberdeen City Council and the local community to deliver four key outputs:
The project team has been working collaboratively with residents, businesses and other stakeholders to ensure local people are brought into an active partnership and share the decision-making process from the start of the process.
1 Concept Design: representing the community’s aspiration of how the redesigned street environment could look. This is arrived at through an integrated process of collaborative design and community engagement which ensures substantial input from the local community and partners, as well as data analysis from qualitative and quantitative surveys. Our key output is a general arrangement plan view of the design, supporting visualisations and a handover report (this document). 2 Fully Engaged Community: more empowered and part of the decision-making process. Our output is a comprehensive summary of the meaningful engagement undertaken through events, activities, meetings and online communication. Please find more details about this process in the Community Engagement chapter. 3 Recommendations on Behaviour Change Measures: developed with the local community and relevant stakeholders to encourage more walking, cycling and outdoor activities in the project area. Our output, a summary of which is found in the Behaviour Change chapter, is a report detailing recommendations of how these measures could be delivered locally in subsequent years.
Alongside an Internal Delivery Group made up of the project partners, a Steering Group was formed to:
Woodside Community Council
Tillydrone Community Council Woodside Network
Tillydrone Network
• ensure the long-term direction of the project represents the communities’ priorities and aspirations;
Local Councillors
Aberdeen City Council
Project steering group
• provide support and help communicate the project to the wider community; and
Sustrans
• take joint ownership of the process and ensure this continues beyond concept. This Steering Group is made up of key community representatives including community groups, Local Councillors, business representation and other stakeholders. Figure 2 provides a breakdown of those invited onto and involved in the Steering Group.
Donside Village Riverbank Parents Association
Local business Residents
Police Scotland
Figure 2: Steering Group members
4 Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: that includes a summary of the findings from surveys relevant to the project area (for example, traffic speed and volume; resident and business perceptions and people movement patterns). In order to produce this, we collected baseline monitoring data to demonstrate how our projects are contributing towards the national indicators set by Transport Scotland.
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One of the commitments to come from this project was for Aberdeen City Council to identify funding opportunities to continue working with residents to design improvements to Hayton Road in conjunction with the development of the new Tillydrone Community Campus. Another commitment was to continue the ‘Speedwatch’ Campaign with Police Scotland and Riverbank Primary School to monitor and highlight vehicle speeds along Hayton Road.
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From the priorities identified by the community during the Locality Plan process, Aberdeen City Council worked with Living Streets and residents on a Street Audit in 2017, Appendix B, to identify potential solutions to address road safety concerns along Hayton Road.
Outputs
Figure 1: Study Area in relation to Aberdeen City Centre
Soft launch with Steering Group Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Walking audit with Steering Group
Showcase event with Tillydrone Gateway Group
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Co-Design Approach The project team has used an approach to street design called co-design, also known as collaborative design or participatory design. In Street Design projects, co-design is used to unlock the needs, aspirations and ideas of the local community and, with help from designers and facilitators, transform these into concept design proposals. A key element is that when we approach the community we don’t have a design, we have questions and an ability to facilitate conversations. Co-design puts the people who use the streets at the heart of designing solutions to local issues and planning liveable neighbourhoods for everyone. When designing better streets for walking, cycling and wheeling, people from those doing the school run, to those working or travelling through – are experts in the problems for which the design can be the solution. Through a structured co-design process, we create multiple opportunities for the community to share their expertise and work on solutions with design professionals. We have established a unique co-design process which is summarised in four stages: co-discover, co-develop, co-design and codisplay. The process takes a year from the initial analysis at the co-discover stage to the co-demo stage (see figure 3).
Equality Impact Co-design is an inclusive approach to the design development, as it enables facilitators and designers to create a process with exercises that can assess the street for everyone. These exercises can, for example, 10
As facilitators of the co-design process, we do not favour the different inputs but facilitate conversations between local people to collaborate on a solution.
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Community Analysis
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Community Analysis is a process undertaken at the beginning of every project to better understand who is in the project area and how they use the space. This analysis can last for a month or more and involves different approaches to help us identify the demographics of the area, who would be interested and affected by the project, and if there are any additional needs or inequalities we need to be aware of as a starting point for our engagement and design.
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identifying opportunities, mapping and modelling potential interventions
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introducing the project, meeting local people and building a picture of the neighbourhood
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As part of this handover report, Sustrans now hands over Principal Designer responsibility to the named client, Aberdeen City Council.
be walking and accessibility audits of the project area, practical workshops using street models or one-to-one conversations with different groups of people. Through our community analysis, we identify the different characteristics in an area and use this to guide our co-design approach, as well as trying to reach out to those who are not immediately visible through research, via local contacts and knowledge.
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Construction Design Manual Regulations Under the Construction Design Manual Regulations (2015), Sustrans is the Principal Designer.
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consulting and refining initial designs out on the street, through events and online
showcasing the concept design to be handed over to Aberdeen City Council
Below you will find an outline of the approach taken for the project.
Figure 3: Overview of the Street Design co-design process (concept design stage)
Co-design in Practice
What Happens Next?
The project team have used a series of engagement methods which have been developed through the establishment of a relationship with the local community. The Community Engagement chapter details the different activities, how they have been developed and how they have been influenced by the responses from the community. The Design Development chapter details the design outcomes from these activities and how they have influenced the next stages of the design development.
Methodology
This report concludes the concept design stage of the project and will be handed over to Aberdeen City Council and the Steering Group. The next stage is to seek Committee approval of the Concept Design before developing the design further and gaining further approval to deliver. Figure 4 illustrates the common pathway for delivery of a Street Design project with an approximate timeline through to delivery. The Recommendations chapter provides more information on the next steps of the project.
The project team undertook the following methods (figure 5) when analysing the community which will be summarised in this chapter and made available, where appropriate, as an Appendix: Method Community Profile Communications and Engagement Plan Stakeholder Mapping Equality Impact Assessment Household survey Retail and customer survey
#TidyTillyWood Campaign
Date Started August 2018 August 2018 September 2018 September 2018 September 2018 November 2018
Figure 5: Methods used for the community analysis
Concept Design 1 year concept design
Detailed Design
Community Analysis
Construction
Approximately 2 years detailed design to construction
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Dumfries Street Design Project Example Walking Audit with Aberdeen Health Walks
Figure 4: Common pathway for delivery of a Street Design project with approximate minimum time line Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Desktop Research Initial community analysis is through desktop research. The analysis consists of collecting information about the community from existing reports, public data and relevant resources available about the study area.
Chapter Summary: DD Desktop research, community profile and stakeholder mapping undertaken to understand context, demographics and identify who to involve within the area; DD Understanding the characteristics within the study area to consider different needs or inequalities; and DD Collecting baseline data through household, business and street surveys to identify barriers and aspirations. Community Profile The desktop research for the area was used to create a community profile which outlined key information about the area including data on travel behaviour, health and well-being, level of deprivation, history of the area and past developments, key facilities and groups. The data was gathered from documents including the Locality Plan for Woodside, Tillydrone and Seaton, Aberdeen City Locality Plans and the Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation. The project includes two communities, Tillydrone and Woodside, which are located between Aberdeen City centre and the River Don. The communities are currently severed by a railway line which leaves two access points of travel between the two areas: a neglected underpass with no mobile accessibility and a narrow railway bridge. Both communities retain their own identity with a separate community council, primary school, library but there are many journeys made between the two by foot, on bike and wheeling daily. The information gathered through the community profile process is summarised in figure 6. The area figures as one of the most deprived in Aberdeen, particularly when looking at health, but also for income. Tillydrone is within the most deprived 20% whilst Woodside is in the 10% SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, 2016). This area is in one of the three priority localities identified by Aberdeen Community Planning Partnership. 11
Tilly-Wood in Numbers Tillydrone population
4,623 Residents
Woodside population
5,167 Residents
Employment and education
Unemployment rising, 14% of area are unemployed.
Health
Life expectancy is on average 5 years shorter than people living in Aberdeen
Households
Over three quarters of residents reside in flats
1 in 3 adults have no formal qualifications
Figure 6: Summary of demographics in the area
The community profile shows that there are several active groups within both communities which include Community Councils, Network Forums, sheltered housing, youth clubs, parent associations, art groups, religious groups, and sports clubs. The opportunity to work with these key community groups throughout the project was identified early on. Communication and Engagement Plan A Communication and Engagement Plan was used to structure the engagement process throughout the project, as well as how we would promote and communicate to the various stakeholders. The project team continuously updated the engagement plan throughout the project, based on lessons learned and new opportunities identified.
Diversity and Equality
Stakeholder Mapping Stakeholder mapping was a key element during the desktop research, and consisted in identifying the relevant stakeholders in the community and categorising them into four groups (see figure 7), according to their level of potential interest and influence. The stakeholder map was continuously updated throughout the project, as our relationship with each stakeholder developed and new connections established. The initial stakeholder list was identified partly through information gathered for the Community Profile, and with input from Aberdeen City Council’s Localities team.
An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA), Appendix C, began at the start of the project to ensure that the co-design process considered disadvantaged, minority and vulnerable groups. The EqIA is structured around protected characteristics and includes information about how they have been included and how their comments and suggestions have been incorporated. These characteristics include age, disability, ethnicity, gender, maternity, religion and sexual orientation. Due to the infrastructure focus of the project, the characteristics of age and disability had particular focus as these groups would be directly impacted by changed in the built environment.
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Aberdeen Evening Express Press and Journal Aberdeen University AUSA Polish Society Scottish Youth Parliament First Bus Aberdeen Kittybrewster Primary school St Machar Academy St Machar Parent Support Project Donview Nursery Hilton Community Centre Woodside Health Centre Fountain Grange Tenants Association Instant Neighbour St Joseph’s Church Woodside Parish Church Fountain Hall Church Cycling Without Age Scotland Community Planning Aberdeen
Emergency Services Network Rail The Lighthouse Project Nestrans Riverbank Parent Association Sport Aberdeen (Woodside Health Walk) Tillydrone Sheltered Housing Trustlens at the University of Aberdeen Community Growing Aberdeen (CFine) Station House Media Unit (SMHU) Aberdeen NHS Grampian
Public sessions, specific workshops and activities • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Local residents Local businesses Riverbank Primary School Woodside Primary School Fersands and Fountain Community Project Printfield Community Project Disability Equity Partnership (DEP) Aberdeen Multicultural Centre Woodside Sheltered Housing Over 55’s Lunch Club, Tillydrone Aberdeen Lad’s Club St George’s Tillydrone Church Woodside Fountain Centre Cycling UK iBike Sustrans Adventure Aberdeen (Dr Bike) Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership Aberdeen Rangers Service Keep Scotland Beautiful
Decision making
COLLABORATE
Circulating information and designs
INVOLVE
Communicate through local channels, leaflet drops, posters and emails
CONSULT
INFORM
On street surveys
• • • • • • • • •
Aberdeen City Council Local ward Councillors Tillydrone Community Council Woodside Community Council Tillydrone Network Woodside Network Riverbank Parent Association Donside Community Association Police Scotland
• Workshops and activities with young people at Riverbank Primary School and Fersands after school club: Children aged 8 – 12 were engaged in the project through various activities including model kit workshops to create design ideas, drawing a ‘journey to school’ and on-street surveys of the area. • Coffee morning with residents from sheltered housing: Visited residents who were less able to attend events to discuss the design proposals and collect feedback on the area in general. • Lunch club with over 55’s: Attended a lunch club aimed for elderly/retired local residents. We introduced the project and collected feedback on barriers including accessibility. • Meeting and design audit with Disability Equity Partnership (DEP): Attended the DEP monthly meeting in April and held a design audit within the study area to discuss specific designs in-situ and collect feedback from people with different needs, including dementia,
Figure 7: Stakeholders Mapping for the study area
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Below are some examples of the engagement activities specifically aimed at including the relevant vulnerable groups identified in the EqIA:
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
autism and visual/physical impairments. • Languages: A significant portion of the community are Polish speakers and/ or have difficulty speaking English. Therefore all of the communications for the project (posters, leaflets and feedback forms) were available in Polish and a Translator on was made available at events to help with conversations.
Baseline Monitoring In October, a household survey was posted to over 3,000 households to collect information on the study area. 178 responses were received from the survey alongside 8 business retail and 35 customer surveys. Please refer to Appendix D for the Baseline Monitoring Report for more detail. A highlight of some of the findings is provided below:
Engagement with Fersands and Fountain Community Project
Sense of community and connections At baseline, the feelings towards the sense of community in the Tillydrone and Woodside area were low, with over half of the survey respondents feeling the sense of community was limited (58.5%) in the study area. 92% of respondents stated they knew at least 1 person they could stop and chat to in the area however, 46% disagreed that there is space for people to socialise. Perceived and physical barriers inhibiting active travel At baseline, the top cited barriers by postal survey respondents and on-street survey respondents, preventing walking around the project area and to local businesses were the condition of path/ road surface (64%), fear of crime/ anti-social behaviour (57.7%) and the lack of shelter from adverse weather (49.1%). With regards to cycling, lack of segregated cycling lanes on roads (61.3%) was the most cited barrier, followed by lack of cycling infrastructure (58.5%) and fear of bike theft (50%), suggesting a need to change the street environment and provide cycling infrastructure in the study area.
Engagement with Fun & Food at Riverbank Primary School
On-street information promoting the project
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Local needs and aspirations Survey respondents were asked to specify the changes/ improvements they would like to be made to the study area. The top cited improvements by postal survey respondents to improve the study area included: • Reducing the amount of litter (84% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing). • Deter acts of antisocial behaviour/ vandalism (83.8% in agreement). • Improve pavements and enhance the area with greenery/ artwork/ signage (73.4% in agreement). Improving pedestrian infrastructure (e.g. road crossings), reducing litter and upkeep of maintenance of the current greenspace in the area, were also improvements highlighted by postal survey respondents when asked if they would like to comment on anything else in the area. Traffic speed and volume One of the main issues raised by survey respondents was traffic speed and volume within the study area. For many, this was a major concern they wished to be deterred and rectified as part of the project. This will be discussed further in the urban analysis chapter. People movement and activity within key spaces Survey respondents most commonly use the local area for accessing local services (79.9%), shopping (76.3%) and for commuting (67.5%). Over half of postal respondents pass through the area to access the city centre (56.8%). The majority of postal survey respondents (58.3%) would like to use the area to meet family/ friends or to socialise outdoors. People walking and cycling in the area Postal survey respondents were asked their opinions on whether they thought their local area was pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Just over half (55.2%) of postal survey respondents agree or strongly agree their local area is pedestrian friendly. Fewer postal respondents 14
Urban Analysis
agreed or strongly agreed the area is bicycle friendly (40.1%), the majority of respondents answered neutral or were in disagreement with this statement: 27.9% answered neutral, and 32% disagreed or strongly disagreed that the area was bicycle friendly. 65.7% of on-street survey respondents travelled on foot to reach the local area and 17.1% travelled on bike. No business respondents travel by bicycle when commuting, the majority use the car (62.5%) and 37.5% walk to work.
Urban Analysis is a process the project team undertake at the beginning of every project to better understand the layout of the study area and how the space is used. This analysis can last for a month or more and involves different approaches to help the project team map out the project area, identify the current use of the space and analyse how it is actually used. The urban analysis includes a series of different surveys and methods.
Quality of place To help understand how the quality of place is perceived by local residents, survey respondents were asked to rate their neighbourhood as a place to live. Overall, the perception of the Tillydrone and Woodside area was positive, with 70.4% rating their neighbourhood as either fairly good (52.8%) or very good (17.6%). However, this showed to be below the national average where 95% of respondents to the Scottish Household Survey felt that their neighbourhood was a fairly / very good place to live.
The approach taken depends on the project location, work done prior to the project and information supplied from the project partners. However, the project team makes every effort to ensure time is taken to understand the study area as much as possible before moving forward with a design.
Methodology The project team undertook and also commissioned the following studies when analysing the urban environment which will be summarised in this chapter and made available, where appropriate, as an Appendix:
Summary Community Analysis was key to understanding who and how to involve local people throughout the co-design process. This included desktop research including understanding the community, detailed Stakeholder Mapping and undertaking Communications and Engagement planning. An Equality Impact Assessment began at the start of the project and was continually updated throughout. The baseline monitoring element of the community analysis, delivered through surveys, helped identify the initial barriers and aspirations of the community in relation to their built environment, active travel and local action. This information shaped the engagement plan, as well as serving the purpose of assessing the impact of the project, as the survey will be repeated after construction to discover any changes in social cohesion and perception of their street environment.
Chapter Summary:
Method Desktop research Public Life Study Baseline monitoring
Urban Analysis
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project Public session at Aberdeen Lads Club Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Big Street Survey with Fersands and Fountain Community Project Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Date Started August 2018 September 2018 December 2018
Junction turning counts December 2018 (JTC) Parking and loading survey December 2018 Automatic number plate February 2019 recognition survey (ANPR) Figure 8: Methods used for urban analysis
Pedestrian and cyclist manual counts have not yet been conducted due to the Tillydrone Community Campus being under construction. This should be undertaken by Aberdeen City Council during the developed design stage of the project to provide baseline figures.
DD Desktop research undertaken to understand the current use of the land and trip generators; DD Baseline surveys and observations undertaken to understand people and vehicle movements within the study area; and DD Understanding trip generators and land use provides context.
Desktop Research A significant element of urban analysis is through desktop research. The analysis consists of collecting information about the urban area from public data and relevant resources. Land use study There are a considerable number of trip generators in the local area, figure 9, including: • Housing; • Education; • Public service; • Recreation; • Public transport connections; and • Commercial. There are also a number of developments, either under construction or planned to be developed in the future, within the study area. One of the developments currently under construction is the new Tillydrone Community Campus on Hayton Road, figure 10. This is due to open in Summer 2019 and will provide a centre for fun, learning and support. Other future development opportunities include a proposed housing development on Western Road (including underpass improvements); re-location of Riverbank Primary School; and the area around the Tillydrone Housing Office and McColls. 15
To understand current traffic speed and volume levels within the neighbourhood, Aberdeen City Council provided datasets, commissioned in 2016/17. Figure 11 indicates the locations of where the TSV data was collected and figure 12 provides a summary of the current levels. Further analysis is provided
Commercial Under construction NCN1
Footpaths
Light controlled crossing
Bus stops
Traffic Movement Surveys To ensure these figures are achievable, the project team commissioned further surveys and analysis of vehicle movements. A Junction Turning Count (December 2018) and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (February 2019) survey was undertaken to understand the purpose and direction of vehicle journeys within the study and wider area.
Zebra crossing Figure 11: Location of TSV monitoring sites
Baseline Monitoring
34%
Saturday 07:00 to 19:00
26%
Saturday midday peak
28%
Figure 13: Through traffic summary (12 hour period)
Parking and Loading Survey
An independent analysis of parking and loading within the study area was conducted on one weekday and one weekend day in December 2018. Space on the five streets surveyed (Hayton Road; Dill Road; Don Street; Gort Road and Western Road) shows an effective car parking total capacity of 195 spaces. The overall usage rarely exceeds 30%. Print Date: 19.3.19
Tilly-Wood Street Design
Figure 14 shows the current parking demand across the study area. General Arrangement Plan
Hayton Road Parking: Highest demand: 35 Spaces Lowest demand: 23 Spaces
Don Street Parking: Highest demand: 17 Spaces Lowest demand: 5 Spaces
An independent analysis of these surveys, Traffic speed and volume
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Hayton Road Centre Parking: Highest demand: 8 Spaces Lowest demand: 4 Spaces
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Figure 12: TSV summary (24hour periods)
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Figure 9: Land use study
62%
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The Community Analysis chapter introduced the household and business surveys undertaken. This chapter will focus on the vehicle and people movement surveys that have been carried out and included within the urban analysis stage of the project.
Weekday AM peak
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Baseline monitoring was undertaken between September and December 2018 to provide a current assessment of residents desires and aspirations for the area, current levels of active travel and vehicle movements.
34%
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Public services
The purpose of the project therefore is to ensure traffic volume and speed is reduced to an acceptable level, creating a better quality street environment along Hayton Road and Don Street without the need for segregated cycling infrastructure.
Significantly reducing this amount of through traffic will ensure a better quality street environment and create opportunities for everyone to walk, cycle and wheel between destinations.
Weekday 07:00 to 19:00
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Recreation
In order to achieve this guidance and ensure funding is available from Transport Scotland to deliver the entire project, vehicle movements need to be reduced to 2,000 or less a day and traffic speed to 20mph or less.
The main flow of through traffic is towards town from Hayton Road to Don Street. The two other main flows (out of town) are from Don Street to Hayton Road and from Don Street to Gordon’s Mill’s Road via Donbank Terrace.
on total trips surveyed
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Future development opportunities
Housing
Current TSV Levels The current levels of traffic speed and volume on Hayton Road and Don Street demonstrates the study area is not meeting Sustrans’ current guidance on facilitating independent walking, cycling, and wheeling for everyone, including an unaccompanied 12-year old.
Proportion of through traffic
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Key:
Traffic Speed and Volume (TSV) Data One of the main barriers raised by the community was that current speed and volume of vehicle movements is stopping people from walking, cycling and enjoying the neighbourhood more. For many, reducing traffic speed and volume was one of the top priorities for improvement.
Appendix E, has concluded that ‘through traffic’ (traffic with no purpose in the local area) makes up a significant proportion of total trips within the study are, as shown in figure 13.
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Figure 10: Artists impression of the new Tillydrone Community Campus (under construction)
within the Baseline Monitoring Report, Appendix D.
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Vehicle Movement Studies
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Figure 14: Current parking demand in the study area
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The people movement studies demonstrate the dominant form of transport is walking to and from local trip generators but the current layout of the street environment doesn’t cater that well for this and could be designed better.
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Location A
The vehicle movement studies demonstrate high traffic levels within the area, specifically people travelling directly through, providing no benefit to the local area. This is having a detrimental impact on how people use and move through the street environment.
Location B
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47% Female
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45% Male
The data collected through the studies has ensured an evidence-led approach and supports the communities desire for change. The studies will be repeated after construction to understand the level of change in vehicle and people movements.
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Fountain Hall
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11% Location D
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Aberdeen Homebrew Coral
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Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
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Figure 16: PLS overview
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35% Location B
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Figure 17: Tracing study outcomes
8% Location C
Figure 15: PLS study locations
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Location C: Hayton Road Underpass
The activity count indicates the number of people passing by at each location during all time slots. The study indicates that Hayton Road Centre (location B) is the most active in the area with people travelling to the primary school and shops. Activity across Don Street Bridge and through the underpass was lower in comparison to Hayton Road/Tillydrone Road junction and Don Street/Western Road junction.
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Location E
The movement count indicates that walking is the dominant travel mode within the neighbourhood with a low flow of cycling. During the week, researchers noted there was a mixture of those traveling to school, commuting, going between facilities, dog walking and using the local shops. On Saturday, there was a high number of people walking to a nearby football match. The demographic and gender count indicates that people on the street are mainly adults (59%) with a nearly equal mix of males and females.
19% Young Adults
52% Adults
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Location B: Hayton Road Centre
Outcomes The pie charts to the right demonstrate the outcomes of four out of the five studies, figure 16.
15% Children
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The findings from the PLS were used to inform the project teams understanding of the street environment, but the results cannot stand alone. The outcomes from the studies are solely an indication of how the streets are currently being used. Together with the
Gender count
Location D: Don Street Bridge
6% 8% Toddlers Seniors
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Activity of those on the street.
Urban Analysis of the study area has demonstrated a need for physical change within the street environment. With development underway or being planned within the study area, there is a need to rebalance the infrastructure and ensure everyone has the opportunity to walk, cycle and wheel between local facilities.
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Travel mode through the street; and
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Demographics of those on the street;
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91% Walk
The tracing diagrams, figure 17, illustrate the movement patterns for those on foot, by bike and wheel for all timeslots and days at each location. The diagrams demonstrate where people want to move within the street. This allows the project team to follow the experts, in this case, local people who use the space everyday.
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Number of people on the street;
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The project team conducted studies that looked at:
Location A: Hayton Road/Tillydrone Road
Location E: Don Street/Western Road
9% Cycle
Demographic count
PLS in Tilly-Wood The PLS took place at five different times on Thursday 30 August and Saturday 1 September at 8am, 12noon, 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm and were conducted at five locations within the study area, figure 15.
Go rd on
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The studies help the project team look at what happens on a street so any proposed changes are informed by those using the space already.
The time slots and days were selected so they represented a mixture of activity levels during both morning and evening rush hours, lunchtime, as well as periods which are expected to be quieter or show different usage patterns between week and weekend days.
Movement count
A Public Life Study (PLS) is the social observation activity that takes place in public spaces i.e. on streets and in parks.
community analysis and stakeholder mapping, initial community engagement helps build up a picture and an understanding of the street environment to develop appropriate and context specific designs of the study area.
Public Life Study - Overview
Don
Project team carrying out Public Life Studies
Dav id Bod ’s Moto y Re r pairs
People Movement Studies
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Location C Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Location D
Location E
Don Street Bridge
19
Community Engagement
Community involvement is fundamental to co-design, ensuring local knowledge and aspirations are central to the development of a concept design.
DD Over 3,000 people engaged during the
Throughout the project, the project team worked closely with the community to develop an active partnership which shared decisionmaking and provided the opportunity to take ownership of the process.
increasing attendance at events and
This chapter focusses on the engagement methods used for each stage of the co-design process while the design development chapter presents the outcomes of each stage.
the concept design.
Discover Stage
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Community Engagement Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Project team carrying out on street surveys
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Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Chapter Summary:
This stage of the project focused on meeting the community, understanding the barriers faced and aspirations of local residents, inspiring through examples and gathering information. This involved initial meetings with local groups, a public launch event, on-street surveys and focussed engagement activities with specific groups.
Before the main launch event, the project team held a ‘soft launch’ with key community representatives including Local Councillors, Community Councils, Regeneration Networks and Riverbank Primary School. This was followed by a walking audit during which participants assessed the study area. The soft launch was used to promote the start of the project and helped form the project Steering Group.
project through 38 events and activities; DD More engaged community through empowered Steering Group; and DD Meaningful engagement has ensured the community has developed and refined
Project launch event When: 19th September 2018 Where: On-street (12.30 to 4pm) and Aberdeen Lad’s Club (6-8pm) Activities during the day included: Drop-by on street to meet the community and collect information on the area through surveys. The project team were placed outside shops, Tillydrone Library and Woodside Community Centre. Drop-in public event for the local community to: • Meet the project team and find out more about the project; • Leave feedback on maps of the study area and comment on how they perceive the area and access local facilities; and • Listen to a presentation from the project team to find out more about the aims and objectives, timeline and next steps. Please refer to Appendix F for the Event Display Boards from the Project Launch.
Showcase Public Drop-in Event Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
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Further Discover Activities Meeting local groups The project team delivered a series of initial meetings with local stakeholders throughout the Discover stage. The objectives of the meetings were to introduce the project, share opportunities and possibilities to work together, and collect feedback on the area. The meetings also helped bring together individuals that represent key community groups to form the Steering Group. The project team met the following groups during the Discover stage: Riverbank Primary School Local Councillors Tillydrone Community Council Woodside Community Council
Outputs and Lessons Learnt
On-street surveys with young people The project team organised ‘Big Street Survey’ sessions for young people from Aberdeen Lad’s Club, Fersands and Fountain Community Project and Riverbank Primary School. This involved children filling out surveys out on the street and collecting information on individual movements including pedestrian and cycle counts and number of vehicles. The children were also asked to write down what they did and didn’t like about the area through drawings and comments. Stall at Tillydrone Community Campus The project team were invited to hold a stall at the Tillydrone Community Campus open day which was an event for local residents to find out what’s going on in their local area. The stall had maps of the area, feedback forms and post-its to collect feedback in relation to how people perceive the area and how they travel to local amenities.
All of the comments and feedback collected from the above events and activities helped the project team identify the main barriers within the study area and gain an understanding of how people access local amenities.
Project Website The project team set up an interactive project website that went live in August 2018. The website was used to collect community feedback, present designs and provide regular updates about the project.
The comments received from the public were analysed and categorised into key themes. Further details of the feedback collected is available in the design development chapter.
Walking Audit
The initial engagement resulted in low attendance and general disconnection to the project. It also became clear that the physical separation between the two communities had an impact. It was therefore necessary to tailor the engagement to the makeup of the community and tap into as many local channels as possible across both communities.
Launch event for the project
https://tillywood.commonplace.is/
It was also evident that a large proportion of people in the area have limited access to the internet therefore the project team focused on offline activities and face-to-face engagement with groups while utilising SHMU, Tilly Tattle, Woodside Free Press and TillyWoodSea Facebook page.
Donside Village Association Clifton Sheltered Housing Health Walks Group NHS Health and Support Printfield Project
During the develop stage, the website launched a design feedback section to present and collect feedback on the initial and concept designs. The platform enabled the team to monitor feedback and promptly respond to comments and questions during the project.
Aberdeen Lad’s Club Fersands and Fountain Community Project
Health Walk in Woodside
Station House Media Unit
During the discover stage, the website launched an interactive heatmap where local people were able to identify a specific location to comment on, view comments made by others and share their ideas, suggestions, and opinions. The platform helped the project team understand the area further and focus on specific locations:
https://tillywoodproposals.commonplace.is/
Over 55’s lunch club The data collected online helped add to the community analysis by collecting public feedback and also providing demographic information such as age, disability and how individuals travel in and use the area.
Discover in numbers Walking Audit of the project area The project team joined up with Aberdeen Health Walks which meet in Woodside on a weekly basis for short walks around the area followed by a coffee and chat. The aim of this joint event was to talk to local residents about the area and their experience of travelling, socialising and using the street environment.. This was also a good opportunity to talk to people on a one-to-one basis and start understanding people’s connection to the area, hearing local stories and history. 22
Tillydrone Community Campus Open Day
Soft launch event for Tilly-Wood project Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
593
Visitors to the website
91
Comments made online
150
Attendees at the Launch event
13
Activities held with different stakeholder groups
Figure 18: Summary of figures for the Discover stage Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
This website also hosts an online blog which was used to promote the project throughout the year and provide monthly updates on the progress, feedback and upcoming events.
Tillydrone Community Campus Open Day © K.I.S Photography
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• View the design ideas developed with Riverbank Primary School
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• View the feedback collected from the Discover stage and add anything which was missed; and
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• Take part in a similar design workshop using the model kit to develop ideas further on a map and join facilitated discussions with neighbours.
De
This stage of the project consisted of developing design ideas to overcome the barriers identified during the Discover stage. This stage included a series of design workshops, both for the wider community and adapted for specific groups, steering group meetings and visiting local groups.
Public Drop-in Session:
Please refer to Appendix G for the Event Display Boards from the Develop session.
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Further Develop Activities Develop model kit workshops When: 27th November 2018 Where: St George’s Church, Tillydrone This event provided an opportunity to present the information collected from the discover stage back to the community, outline the next steps and encourage people to be creative in developing ideas and opportunities into designs using interactive miniature models (street furniture, trees, planters, infrastructure, materials) and large maps of the study area. The event was divided into two parts, for school pupils and the wider community: Riverbank Primary School Session:
To ensure the suggested design ideas worked for different sections of the community, the design workshops were adapted and taken to the following groups: Tillydrone Community Council, Tillydrone Network and Woodside Community Council. At each meeting the project team presented the feedback collected from the Discover stage, discussed the emerging key themes and outlined the design ideas which were created during the model kit workshops. Drop-in Develop session
This stage of the project consisted of consulting on the initial designs from the information discovered and ideas developed with the community. The design consultation took place for a month between March and April and consisted of a public drop-in event, led walks of the designs on the street, coffee mornings, attending community council meetings and delivering activities with schools and youth clubs.
Throughout this period, the project team engaged with over 1,200 people and received over 150 comments about the initial design proposals.
• Drop-in between 3 and 8pm to view and discuss the initial designs; • Feedback forms; • Led walk to finish at Woodside Community Centre; and • Short presentation. The event also included refreshments supplied by CFine, a local charity which runs various volunteering opportunities in the area about growing food and conservation. Please refer to Appendix H for the Event Display Boards from the design consultation.
Meeting Woodside Community Council
Design Feedback
Feedback forms in venues
Drop in consultation event
As well as being available on the project website, the community also had an opportunity to view the initial designs on street, in Tillydrone library, Woodside Fountain Centre, Woodside Library and St George’s Church.
Design consultation events When: 27th March 2019 Where: St George’s Church, Tillydrone and Woodside Fountain Centre These events provided an opportunity to feedback to the community on the first two stages and collect feedback on the initial designs to ensure the information translated was correct.
Model kit session with Riverbank Primary School
Drop-in Develop session
Drop-in Develop session
• Icebreaker activity: pupils asked how they travel to school and why
Refreshments provided by local charity CFINE
The event took place across both communities with different activities on offer: Woodside Fountain Centre:
• Comparison activity: pupils provided with ‘before’ and ‘after’ images from other street design projects to discuss differences and why
• Drop-in between 3 and 5pm to view and discuss the initial designs; • Led walk at 5pm to finish at St George’s church in time for the evening presentation;
• Design activity: pupils were presented with the main themes from the discover stage and were asked to re-design the street using the model kit to solve some of these barriers they face when travelling to school or meeting friends. 24
Design Stage
St George’s Church
• Feedback forms Public drop-in for the design consultation © K.I.S Photography Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Design walk of the project area duringImages the design K.I.S Photography from consultation design event©Sessions 2 Develop
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Clifton Court Sheltered Housing The project team visited groups who were unable to attend the public events and whose voices are often seldom heard. This included the local residents and carers of Clifton Court sheltered housing in Woodside where the project team organised a coffee morning to present the initial designs to residents and gather feedback.
Engagement day at Riverbank Primary School The team visited Riverbank Primary School which involved presenting at the school assembly and running workshops with two classes. The class activities included circulating the initial designs, discussing the changes, discussing what they liked/didn’t like and highlighting further suggestions. In total, the team engaged with 360 pupils during the day.
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Meetings with community groups The project team joined Woodside Community Council and Printfield Community project meetings to present and discuss the initial designs and collect feedback. These meetings were also used to promote the project website to a wider audience for residents to view the designs and leave their feedback online or at the local venues.
Led design walks The led walk at the public event was a useful method of taking local people through the designs. Therefore this was repeated during the consultation period to provide plans and visuals in-situ on the street.
Communications
This stage of the project consisted of refining the initial designs based on the comments received during the design stage and showcasing the concept design to the community. This stage also included outlining the next steps to the community and handing over the project to the partners.
therefore ensured that as much of the written communication as possible was translated.
A variety of communication methods were used throughout the project depending on the audience and message. A summary of the methods used are shown below in figure 20.
Please refer to Appendix K for promotion materials used throughout the project, Appendix L for press articles and Appendix M for community articles included in the Tilly Tattle and Woodside Free Press.
As well as using face-to-face engagement, the project team has used written communication in the form of posters, on street displays, leaflet drops and information displayed in local facilities throughout both communities. Through the desktop research, the project team identified Polish to be the second most spoken language in the area
Communication Methods Design walk of the project area
When: 19th June Where: St George’s Church, Tillydrone
Meeting with Disability Equity Partnership The Disability Equity Partnership (DEP) works across Aberdeen to raise awareness of the challenges faced by those with disabilities and breakdown barriers. The project team attended their monthly meeting to introduce the project and organise a follow up site visit.
Online
The event provided an opportunity to present on the year-long co-design process, explain the concept design and what had been incorporated into the initial designs and outline the behaviour change recommendations. Activities during the day:
Design in numbers
Drop in with Clifton Court
Type
Showcase event
Fersands Connection Day The project team were invited to hold a stall at Fersands Community ‘Connection Day’, an event attended by adults and young people during the school holidays offering a variety of activities. The stall showcased the initial designs and gave children the opportunity to ask questions, leave comments on the map and work together to fill out a feedback form on the design ideas.
602
Visitors to the website
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Attendees at events
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Online comments
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Survey comments
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Total people engaged
Figure 19: Summary of people engaged
Stall at Fersands Connection Day
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Display Stage
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Further Design Activities
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
• Drop-in session between 3pm and 8pm for the community to view and discuss the concept design and complete a feedback form on the designs and how they felt they had been involved in the co-design process;
Interview with local media
• Design audit with the Disability Equity Partnership to discuss and view the concept on the street; and
Method Sustrans website
Project summary with link to Commonplace website
Project website (Commonplace)
Information gathering, formal consultation, blog posts
Facebook/Twitter
Sustrans Scotland Aberdeen City Council Tillydrone Network Station House Media Unit
Station House Media Unit
Information giving: free community magazine ‘Tilly Tattle’ and ‘Woodside Free press’ sent to every household on a quarterly basis. (Appendix M) Radio interview opportunities.
Local press
Aberdeen Evening Express; Press & Journal (Appendix L)
Posters
Promoting main events. Displayed throughout Tillydrone and Woodside, and posted to individual households
On-street display
On-street promotion during public consultation
Press
• Stalls from UK Cycling, Health Walks, Aberdeen Multicultural Centre, Tillydrone Gateway Group and Adventure Aberdeen.
Details
Figure 20: Outline of communication methods used throughout the project
Refreshments were supplied by CFine, and a bike mechanic was on hand to repair bikes for free. This event marked the handover of the project to Aberdeen City Council and Steering Group. Please refer to Appendix J for the Event Display Boards from the Showcase event. Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
On-street promotion
27
Summary
Behaviour Change
A wide variety of engagement and communication methods were used as part of the project to ensure a representative range of user groups were empowered to participate in meaningful ways. Over 3,000 people were reached as part of the engagement, and thousands of comments and suggestions were gathered since the launch of the project.
To create an environment whereby walking, cycling and wheeling can be considered as a choice for everyday journeys, it is crucial to not only improve the physical street environment through new infrastructure, but also tackle broader social, economic and cultural factors that currently inhibit independent mobility for everyone. Therefore, as part of our project the team also worked with the community to identify barriers which might be preventing people from walking, cycling or accessing the local area.
The engagement was divided into four stages, Discover, Develop, Design and Display (Demo), and, for each, a public drop in session was delivered, accompanied by a series of smaller sessions and meetings targeted at specific audiences. In total, 38 activities and meetings were delivered throughout the project, including initial stakeholder meetings.
Engagement with Riverbank Primary School
Drop-in launch event Š Andy Brown Photography
Through different engagement activities, the team collected information to understand the barriers preventing people from travelling actively which ranged from lack of quality infrastructure to skills and knowledge. The the team then worked with the community to develop a list of recommendations as to what could be incorporated alongside the infrastructure designs to encourage people to actively travel in their local area.
A special effort was made to include seldom heard groups and vulnerable people in the engagement process and empower them to contribute and shape the concept design. The Steering Group played a vital role communicating to the wider community and signing off each stage of the process. This was also an effective way of allowing community members to take ownership of the project and empower people to become self-sufficient and active participants in local decision-making.
The outcome of this work is in the form of a Behaviour Change Recommendations Report that provides advice on how to access funding and support from organisations across Aberdeen that breakdown these barriers.
Finally, the behaviour change engagement element of the project provided a more holistic approach to the promotion of walking, cycling and wheeling in the study area. The next chapter explains this process in more detail and how the project team have used the identified barriers to make recommendations for a lasting legacy.
This chapter outlines the activities, findings, and also the recommendations for behaviour change.
Showcase Public Drop-in Event
Chapter Summary: DD Important to identify and address the social and individual barriers that inhibit independent mobility alongside the infrastructure changes; DD Recommendations made to address barriers through tailored interventions; and DD Advice provided on how to access funding and support from organisations across Aberdeen to plan and deliver these interventions.
Activities In order to identify barriers with the local community before designing solutions, the following activities were delivered: Walking audits: one audit with local residents, community representatives and Local Councillors, and a second audit with a local walking group run by Aberdeen Health Walks. These walking audits provided opportunities for community members to walk through their neighbourhood and assess the conditions of the existing infrastructure for active travel and social interactions. The comments raised by participants helped inform and develop the designs.
Behaviour Change Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Showcase Public Drop-in Event
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Drop-in launch event Š Andy Brown Photography Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Dr Bike Mechanic session during final showcase event Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Big Street Survey with Fersands and Fountain Community Project
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The first group raised concerns about the accessibility of the area which included difficult crossings and lack of shelters. The main point raised by the walking group was the lack of connection between Woodside and Tillydrone. Participants explained that the underpass, connecting the two areas, is not used by many older people due to the steps and drainage issues. These people use the alternative, and longer route via Don Street Bridge. Both groups noted that the pavements along Don Street Bridge are narrow, making it difficult and often dangerous to walk. Big Street Surveys with Fersands and Fountain Community Project, Aberdeen Lads Club and Riverbank School to understand how young people move around the area, travel to and from school and how they would improve the street environment. Delivering activities both inside and outside the classroom, children explored what they like and dislike about their neighbourhood. The majority of children participating in activities walked to the school. They saw many benefits of travelling actively to school such as: exercise, opportunity to see people they know and walk with their friends as well as getting fresh air and no need to use fuel. Children shared their own feelings of the local area. Notably, many observed that they did
not feel safe on the zebra crossing at Hayton Road/Drill Road, because the cars were going too fast. Participants felt that the area is dominated by cars, poor quality of pavements and there is an issue of littering in many parts. They also highlighted the importance of green spaces in the neighbourhood, and how the presence of people walking makes it feel nice. #TidyTillyWood Clean Up Campaign, in support of the wider community-led #TidierTilly initiative. This included producing a video with pupils of Kitty Brewster Primary School, residents and business owners who pledged their support for a #TidyTillyWood. The main event was a community clean-up along Hayton Road and Western Road involving pupils from Riverbank Primary School and Woodside Primary School alongside local residents.
and repaired. “Son enjoyed it with his bike, got his breaks fixed, and my tires pumped up. Twice a year would be good, great idea for kids + families.” Local resident Online blog through the project website, was to raise awareness of national campaigns promoting walking and cycling such as the Big Pedal, and National Walking Month, as well as local outdoor activities. Activity stalls at the final public event where local organisations including Cycling UK, Aberdeen Multicultural Centre, Health Walks
and Adventure Aberdeen raised awareness about walking, cycling and outdoor initiatives within the area. Feedback collected during these activities, in combination with online comments and surveys, has helped to further develop the recommendations.
Identified Barriers and Needs During the project, the team discovered how and why people choose certain modes of travel, where they walk and cycle in the local area and what stops them from using these
modes more often for everyday journeys. Identifying and understanding the factors that influence travel behaviour in the local area helps to design infrastructure and provide support that enables communities to choose to walk, cycle and wheel more. The barriers found during the project have been divided into two areas; ‘physical’ and ‘social and individual’ for walking, cycling and wheeling.
Physical Barriers Poor quality physical environment including narrow and uneven pavements and lack of drop kerbs on Hayton Road, making it difficult for those with buggies and mobility scooters to move around. The lack of segregated cycling lanes and cycling infrastructure were cited the most by the community as barriers to cycling. “Rough roads and poor surfaces make it an unpleasant experience to walk or cycle.” Participant at young people session
Wee Wildlife Wander walk, with Aberdeen Countryside Rangers along the River Don between Tillydrone and Seaton Park, during which participants explored the local wildlife and learned more about the history of people living and working on the river.
Lack of shelter from adverse weather and poor lighting can change the perception of an area, limit mobility for some people, particularly those who are ill, injured, older or very young, and discourage walking.
Dr Bike events in November and June, provided by Adventure Aberdeen, whereby over 15 bikes were given a free health check
Lack of access to bikes and safe bike facilities. Some residents do not have access to a bike, which is often determined by the
cost and securing it safely. The concern of safe bike storage was cited by 50% of the participants through the baseline survey. This relates to the lack of facilities to safely store the bike at home, as well as when accessing shops and services in the neighbourhood.
Social and individual Barriers Feeling exposed or vulnerable to motorised traffic. The high volume of traffic travelling along Hayton Road as well as high speeds discourages people from walking around the area and make the street a less attractive place to walk and cycle. During the site visits the project team observed people using pavements to cycle on. This is an indication that the current street environment is not safe nor attractive for people travelling by bike therefore they choose to cycle on the pavement rather than the carriageway. Although cycling on the pavement may seem safer than the carriageway, this impacts other people using the pavement. This is a particular concern for individuals with disabilities, restricted mobility or walking with small children. Therefore changes to improve cycling infrastructure is crucial for many different users of the street environment. In addition, some people in the community feel
worried about their personal safety due to antisocial behaviour and vandalism. Littering can influence an individual’s choice to travel and spend time in an area. Too much littering can create a negative perception of an area as it can feel less attractive and unsafe. No consideration of using a bike as a transport mode. Cycling is seen mainly as a leisure activity, and many people, especially adults do not consider that they could travel by bike rather than by car or public transport. Lack of skills to ride a bike was a barrier often cited by school pupils, raising the need for cycling training and activities to practice.
Recommended Measures to Increase Walking, Cycling and Wheeling
Using these findings, the team have prepared a set of recommendations that could support the development of an action plan to address the social and individual barriers identified which cannot be addressed by physical measures.
• Promote walking, and cycling more as alternative transport modes to private vehicles for everyday journeys; • Enhance skills, knowledge and confidence for everyone to be able to walk and cycle independently • Increase and enhance the ethos and culture of walking and cycling.
Recommended measures to increase journeys on foot, by bike and wheelchair: Promote cycling as an everyday transport option and its benefits. It is important to raise awareness about the value of cycling for everyday journeys and its benefits with the support of journey planning, so people can consider cycling as a way of travelling. Identifying local residents who already cycle can be a great step to develop personal stories to be shared with the community. Provide inclusive cycling equipment. Provide a range of cycling equipment/facilities through community bike hire or exchange schemes to help cycling become more accessible for people with low income and families.
The recommendations prioritise the following objectives:
Discovering barriers
#TidyTillyWood: Click to watch the Video.
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Pavement cycling along Hayton Road
#TidyTillyWood clean up event Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Aberdeen Health Walks
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Enable skills building Organise cycling courses and bicycle maintenance workshops for adults to support people who lack skills and confidence to use a bike. These workshops could be aimed at vulnerable groups such as women, families with younger children, youth groups or older people.
This chapter outlines the design development process for the project including the outcomes from each stage, design evolution process and how the community’s feedback on the initial designs has shaped the concept. Please refer to Appendix O for feedback forms, and the Concept Design chapter for more detail on the design proposals.
Organise guided rides and walks Provide training for volunteer walk leaders and cycle leaders in the community to build capacity and organise guided rides and led walks around the local area and to popular destinations. Led rides can be organised for different groups to help reach people for who bike is not obvious transport mode e.g. school children, women.
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Provide safe bike facilities Review available bike parking and provide more secure bike shelters, especially near tenement flats. Improve knowledge and awareness of how to store bikes securely.
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Improve signage and maps Provide clear and up-to-date maps showing local walking and cycling routes that are displayed across the neighbourhood and at community facilities.
Design Development
Workshop and Big Street Survey with Fersands Youth Project
A Behaviour Change Recommendations Report is available in Appendix N.
si g De n
Participate in community challenges Together with schools, community groups, youth clubs, and workplaces, run initiatives promoting walking and cycling, for example Bike Week, Walk to School Week and the Big Pedal. They incorporate personal as well as group challenges making it a social event too.
Activate streets Organise on-street events such as play streets, led walks and community activities to encourage people to use their streets differently, socialise and play independently.
The report includes detailed information on the findings and provides recommended measures that can be taken forward by Aberdeen City Council, community groups, schools and volunteers to enable and encourage more people to walk, cycle and wheel. The report also provides advice on how to access funding and support from organisations across Aberdeen to breakdown the identified barriers.
p Dis lay
Involve schools and young people Assist schools to develop School Travel Plans to encourage pupils to cycle, walk or scoot to school and provide walking and cycling skills to primary and secondary school children. School Travel Plans can be also used to work towards accreditations such as Eco-School Green Flag or the Cycle Friendly School Award.
Discover Stage
Design Development Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
DD Ideas and opportunities used to create an early vision for the study area; DD Design objectives developed to prioritise groups and shape initial design; and DD Initial design ideas refined into a concept through design iteration process with the community and data analysis demonstrating an evidence-led approach.
The information gathered from the Discover Stage was used to create an early vision for the project. This was grouped into ideas and priorities for improvement and were presented back to the community to develop further using the miniature model kit outlined in the Community Engagement chapter. A summary report from this stage, Appendix P, was presented to the Steering Group in November 2018 for sign off before presenting this back to the wider community during the Develop Stage.
Ideas for Improvement The word cloud below demonstrates the community’s priorities for improvement, and the infographic to the right (figure 21) shows how the community would improve the study area.
Dr Bike by Adventure Aberdeen
Chapter summary:
Top 5 ways you would improve the area
81% would
improve pavements
71% would
reduce + slow traffic
70% would like safer crossings
69% would
enhance public space
69% would
add more greenery/play Figure 21: Community feedback
Model Kit workshop during public drop-in session for the Develop stage
32
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
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81
71
69
• narrowing the road to 6 meters; • extending the pavement width; and adding seating, planting and colour. 34
Stall at Tillydrone Community Hub open day
Neutral
Negative
• prioritised people crossing side roads over vehicles turning into residential streets. Figure 24: Initial sketch for Hayton Road Centre
BUS STOP
scove Di
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Positive
• formalising parking and loading;
d
f
• raising the road in certain areas;
oa
d o w n tr a
reduce to an absolute minimum, through traffic on Hayton Road and Don Street without significantly moving it onto other residential streets
eR
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• removing the road centreline marking;
s
“Some ideas are a little extreme.”
tin
uce &
• provided a new loading bay outside the shops and retains the parking bays across the road; and
“Tillydrone & Woodside have waited so long for a positive change and regeneration... This is a fantastic opportunity.”
ar rtm
%
ed :r
lo
Reducing and slowing down traffic by making the area a 20mph zone and changing the physical nature of the street including:
provide for practical delivery access to local businesses while prioritising customers and staff accessing businesses on foot, by bike or on public transport
How do you feel about the designs overall? Total number of comments: 590
Fo
• tactile paving.
• retained the current zebra crossings which would be raised, widened and re-painted to ensure drivers give way to people crossing the road;
Drop-in public session at Develop event
y
• dropped kerbs; and
• provided landscaping, seating and a flexible event space outside the shops to create an environment to spend time in;
A short report from the Design stage, Appendix Q, was presented to the Steering Group in June 2018 for sign off before showcasing the handover concept design to the wider community during the Display Stage.
G
IN
AD LO
From this, an initial design was developed that:
• widened and improved pavements using a higher quality material to signify a change of environment;
Below is a summary of the initial designs and the feedback received from the community.
’s
Cit
• continuous footways at side roads;
deliver an attractive, quiet, green environment that improves public space and liveability by prioritising sociability and play for all
a Nis
• more light either through existing lighting (where possible) or solar stud lighting.
• crossing points;
deliver better access for people with disabilities to and from local destinations
The community feedback indicated the current street layout encourages high vehicle speeds, makes it difficult to cross the road and lacks quality space to spend time in. • raised the area between Dill Road and Fortmartine Road; and outside the Community Campus to slow down vehicles;
Each section presented a different design principle; initial design; plan view and indicative sketch.
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• a vibrant destination in the centre of Hayton Road which provides an environment for people to spend time in and enhances the identity of local businesses; and
deliver a better cycling experience for all people, including an unaccompanied 12 year old child, to and from local destinations
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%
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%
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Improving pavement conditions by widening and resurfacing, where practical, to make it easier for local people to access and spend time in the area. This is further improved with more:
• two gateways providing a slower, welcoming entrance into either side of the area;
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Enhancing the public space by creating:
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• using vertical elements found throughout the area to create a common theme.
In order to present the designs in more detail to the community, the project scope was divided into five sections: Hayton Road Centre; Don Street Bridge; Hayton Road Gateway; Woodside Gateway; and Hayton Road Underpass.
N
m Qis
• using continuous footways to prioritise people crossing side roads.
deliver a better walking experience for all people to and from local destinations
Figure 22 presents the feedback received by the community on the overall design with 50% of comments received being positive.
The design for this area looked to create a vibrant destination for the community and businesses.
en
• using artwork to draw on aspects of the neighbourhood; and
The overall design aimed to: reduce vehicle speeds to 20pmh; remove or reduce through traffic; improve crossings; improve and widen pavements; and enhance the public space with seating, planting, lighting and art.
ld
• creating informal crossings by raising certain sections of the road; and
• enhancing current greenspace with low maintenance planting;
These objectives were produced for the project team and community to assess the initial designs.
Using the information discovered and developed with the community, the project team presented and collected feedback between March and April 2019 on initial designs to refine into a concept.
Hayton Road Centre
Go
These themes and objectives were presented to the Steering Group in March 2019 for sign off before consulting with the wider community during the Design Stage:
• adding two further zebra crossings on Hayton Road;
• incorporating planters and trees (where possible) into the streetscape;
Overall Design
5950mm
d
• raising, widening and re-painting the existing zebra crossings;
Design Stage
r
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The ideas for improvement were developed further using miniature models of the street to create key themes. This shaped the overall design and design objectives for the study area.
Design Objectives To ensure the designs met the community’s needs and aspirations, six design objectives were developed from the key themes.
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Adding more greenery and informal play opportunities by:
e n e ry / pl ay
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Develop Stage
Providing safer crossings by:
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Ha
6000mm
Figure 23: Initial plan view for Hayton Road Centre
How the community felt about this design: 18%
13%
69%
Total comments = 57 “Raised tables are good and work well”
“Blue badge parking spaces near the shops/ school”
“It’s again a beautiful design but parking is the reason why my customers come to my business.”
Public comments from the consultation
“The overall design once completed will certainly make a difference to the area. Let’s hope it works as it would be disappointing if all the hard work is done, and then to be neglected.”
Figure22: Feedback on the overall design and public comments from the consultation Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
35
Ro
BB SSTTOO UUSS PP
The community feedback indicated that the current street layout encourages vehicles to retain speed when entering Hayton Road, crossing the road is difficult and coaches park up in the bus stop. They also wanted to see the greenspace protected from Tillydrone Road.
71%
Reduce through traffic Reduce (minor detour to local access traffic)
Figure 26: feedback on dealing with through traffic Allow all (no change to local traffic access)
Gordon’s Mills Road
Option 2: one-way eastbound
Option 1: no private vehicle access
• reduced the crossing distance across the junction mouth from 22 meters to 9 meters (approx.);
N
• provided a new informal crossing that follows observed movement patterns; • moved the bus stop into the road to slow down traffic; • provided a loading bay for the pharmacy and formalises parking bays; and
Hayton Road
69%
11%
14%
Total respondents: 72
Total respondents: 62
Option 3: split road
Option 4: traffic lights
N
Don St bridge main point of entry/exit
36
22%
on
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Figure 29: Initial sketch for Hayton Road Gateway
Figure 28: Initial plan view for Hayton Road Gateway
How the community felt about this design: 20%
67%
Total comments = 64 “The cycle path is great” “Given the issue with the central Hayton road area are you certain you’re formalising enough parking here?”
ad Ro
Design for this decision rega area dependent on rding Don Stre et Bridge
8000mm
The community feedback indicated that the current street layout encourages a high volume and speed of traffic exiting onto Great Northern Road, crossing the road is difficult and pavements are too narrow. They also wanted to see the greenspace enhanced to act as a gateway.
9000mm
“This would have the effect of slowing down traffic which is the main intention.”
Don Street 4000mm
• removed the left hand filter lane onto Great Northern Road to increase the pavement width; • added an advanced stop line, giving priority to those travelling by bike; • provided a new informal crossing that follows observed movement patters;
6000mm
2000mm
Figure X: Initial plan view Hayton Road Centre
From this, the project team developed an initial design that: • raised the junction to slow down vehicles entering/exiting onto Great Northern Road and reduced the crossing distance at the traffic lights;
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5000mm
6000mm
13%
N N
Figure 30: Initial plan view for Woodside Gateway
How the community felt about this design: 21%
27%
52%
Total comments = 63 “Safe for pedestrians lets “Dangerous drivers know they are idea putting entering a crossings so community” near junction” “Re-instate the Woodside Fountain” Public comments from the consultation
• formalised parking bays along Don Street; and • enhanced the greenspace with a sculpture feature to provide seating and light.
Public comments from the consultation Figure 31: Initial sketch for Woodside Gateway and sculpture
Through traffic going towards the city (AM).
34%
Figure 25: Map indicating the direction of through traffic
55% 11%
• landscaped the greenspace with a hedge to protect the space from Tillydrone Road and provides seating.
N
Donbank Terrace
IN
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From this, the project team developed an initial design that:
• provided a new raised zebra crossing and continuous cycle lane at the junction mouth. Vehicles entering or exiting Hayton Road would have to give way to people crossing;
N
Through traffic going out of the city (PM).
Remove (no traffic access over Don St Bridge) How can we reduce through traffic? The project team developed four design options for Don Street Bridge that aimed to remove or reduce through traffic while maintaining residential and business access through the neighbourhood. Below are the responses from the community regarding the different design options:
ad
G
Tillydrone Pharmacy
The design for this area looked to create a slower, welcoming entrance into Don Street Ti lly dr on and Western Road from Great Northern e Ro Road that prioritises walking, cycling and ad wheeling.
th er n
25%
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or
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The design for this area looked to create a slower, welcoming entrance into Hayton Road from Tillydrone Road that prioritises walking, cycling and wheeling.
Change nothing
Woodside Gateway
d oa nR
Figure 26 presents the feedback with the vast majority (71%) wanting to reduce through traffic and, to do so, would accept a minor detour to local access.
Hayton Road Gateway
r ste We
Therefore the project aims to reduce the amount of through traffic and reduce traffic speeds within the neighbourhood.
The main flow of through traffic is towards town from Hayton Road to Don Street (green arrow in figure 25 below). The two other main flows (out of town) are from Don Street to Hayton Road and from Don Street to Gordon’s Mill’s Road via Donbank Terrace (blue arrows in figure 25 below).
How would you deal with traffic in the area? Remove traffic completely
One Way
What are we trying to achieve? The community feedback indicated that the volume and speed of vehicle movements within the neighbourhood makes it difficult to walk, cycle and wheel between local schools, shops and community facilities in Tillydrone and Woodside.
Dealing with through traffic The community were asked how they would prefer to deal with the problem of through traffic. The options were either to allow all through traffic (with no change to traffic), to reduce through traffic (with minor detours to local access traffic) or to remove all through traffic (having no vehicle access across Don Street Bridge).
BUS P S TO
Don Street Bridge
What do we know so far? An independent analysis of vehicle movements confirms that there is a high amount of through traffic within the neighbourhood. This is particularly true in the morning peak where 62% of all traffic does not stop in the area at all.
Total respondents: 72
15%
51%
30%
26%
44%
Total respondents: 66
Figure 27: feedback on four design options for Don Street Bridge Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
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4000mm
5000 mm
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Print Date: 19.3.19
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Tilly-Wood Street Design
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Figure 38: Woodside Gateway plan view
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Hayton Road Parking: = 37 spaces = 1 loading bay
This also included 2 new loading bays, outside General Arrangement Plan the shops within the centre and outside the Pharmacy on Hayton Road.
es W
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The initial designs provided for the highest surveyed parking demand on Don Street, Hayton Road and Hayton Road Centre.
Figure 36: Hayton Road Centre plan view
Reduced the initial large raised table to two smaller areas that will further slow down vehicles and emphasise the zebra crossing
Raised area moved away from the junction to create a smaller raised table at the informal crossing.
Added cycle parking
Raised zebra crossing to slow traffic and emphasise observed pedestrian movements; and cycle parking added
Ro
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New Loading
BB SSTTOO UUSS PP
Tillydrone Pharmacy
11 Spaces
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Don Street Parking: = 17 spaces
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Public comments from the consultation
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“Introducing another crossing is a very good idea.”
Gr ea
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Initial Parking Provision
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Showcase public drop in event
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Riverbank Primary School
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PARK & STRIDE
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8 Spaces New Loading
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Figure 33: Initial sketch for Hayton Road Gateway
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Hayton Road Centre Parking: = 5 spaces = 1 loading bay
Figure 37: Hayton Road Gateway plan view
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“Inviting school children to get involved with proposals will help with future maintenance”
Don Street
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Total comments = 62
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72%
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How the community felt about this design:
Go
• looked at aesthetic improvements to the underpass entrance and passageway including: paint and greenery to inject colour; mirrors, lighting and anti-slip paint to help aid visibility.
Figure 34: Initial sketch for the railway security fencing
Please refer to the Concept Design chapter for the handover design and recommendations.
BU STOP S
• enhanced the railway fencing with colourful paint, incorporates seating and planting; and
Figure 32: Initial plan view for Hayton Road Underpass
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• formalised parking bays along Hayton Road;
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• provided a new zebra crossing near the steps leading from Alexander Drive to Hayton Road that follows observed movement patterns;
N
Gateway feature further developed
ad
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• raised the road to slow down vehicles moving around the bend and aid pedestrian visibility;
Added cycle parking
si g n
The community feedback indicated that the current street layout makes it difficult to cross the road from parked vehicles and high speeds. They also wanted to see improvements made to the underpass. From this, the project team developed an initial design that:
velop De
5000mm
Using the feedback received during the consultation period, the project team refined the initial design into a concept that was showcased to the community in June 2019.
Formalised vehicle parking bays which will provide for loading at certain times d oa
6000mm 2500mm
Display Stage
R rt Go
The design for this area looked to improve visibility for people crossing, entering into and making aesthetic improvements to the passageway through the underpass from Hayton Road.
r
ad
Hayton Road Underpass
Figure 35: Parking provision within the initial design Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Showcase public drop in event Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Formalised vehicle parking which will provide for loading at certain times
Figure 39: Hayton Road plan view
Park and stride introduced as key link to primary school
39
4,132
Gordon’s Mill’s Rd
1,156
1,029
Concept Parking Provision
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3 Spaces + 1 Disabled (Time Loading Bay)
Mon-Sat 8.30am - 6.30pm
Tillydrone Pharmacy
Ti
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Tillydrone Pharmacy
11 Spaces
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Hayton Road Centre Parking: = 8 vehicle bays = 1 blue badge bay
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
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Housing Development subject to Planning
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Housing Development subject to Planning
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Concept Design
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Figure 41: Split Road plan view
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TIMED LOADING BAY
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traffic volume would reduce even further on all three streets. For further analysis on through traffic, please refer to Appendix E.
3 Spaces + 1 Disabled (Time Loading Bay)
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What does this mean? Based entirely on through traffic analysis (not including local trips) of the Split Road design presented during the Display stage, figure X, a high and low impact scenario has been assumed for reducing through traffic:
rd o
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rd o
Please refer to Appendix R for a larger version of the general arrangement plan, figure 42.
Go
= 41 vehicle bays = 3 blue badge bays
Don Street Parking: = 17 vehicle bays
Go
• Hayton Road Underpsss
The concept design formalises parking bays throughout Don Street and Hayton Road. In addition, it provides 4 blue badge bays and 2 time restricted loading bays for local businesses. Hayton Road Parking:
950
Figure 40: Forecast impact on two-way traffic flows * Note these figures do not include local trips rerouting
• Woodside Gateway
BUS P STO
4,535
• Hayton Road Gateway
ace
5,362
• Don Street Bridge
Alexander Terr
Don St
design section.
BUS P STO
High 1,934
DD Recommendations provided for each
rt
Low 2,257
purpose and benefits of each; and
Go
Hayton Rd
Current 2,958
design sections with a different design
• Hayton Road Centre
et
Location
DD The concept design is split into five
The following areas are presented:
Stre
If these scenarios were applied to local trips,
• consideration of a one-way (eastbound) on Donview Place.
e Plac
Using these scenarios, if the split road design only had an impact on through traffic, there would be the following changes to traffic volume within the area:
demonstrates the entire study area;
The following pages present the designs (plan view and supporting visualisation) alongside the benefits and recommendations.
Don
30%
DD General arrangement plan
This is not the final design but provides a concept for how it should be developed further.
BUS P STO
Low impact: increased distance
60%
ank
Residents will still able to drive to the bridge via an alternate route of Donbank Terrace Donview Place - Don Street. However, the detour and the numerous traffic calming measures on Hayton Road and Don Street means that it will no longer be an attractive route for through traffic.
High impact: increased distance, 20mph zones and traffic calming
• restrict heavy/long vehicles on the bridge; • creation of a second gateway at Don Street/ Don Place junction to narrow the road; • 20mph zone for the entire neighbourhood; • re-design Gordon’s Mill’s Road junction to enforce the banned right hand turn; and
An experimental Traffic Regulation Order would allow for further engagement with the community and monitoring and evaluation of air quality, traffic levels and movement patterns before a permanent solution is agreed.
nb Do
The Split Road design is currently considered the best solution for managing through traffic in the area. It benefits the wider neighbourhood by significantly reducing through traffic and thus supports the project ambition of making the area a more attractive place for residents to walk, cycle, wheel and spend time in.
Suggested reduction in Eastbound through traffic
This chapter presents the concept design for the Tilly-Wood Street Design Project which has been developed collaboratively with the project partners and Aberdeen City Council through a 12-month process.
The project team recommends the following additional measures alongside the Split Road design:
BU STOP S
Recommendations
50%
Chapter Summary:
BU STOP S
Option 4 (traffic lights) allows for improved pavements and reduces the bridge to one traffic lane with traffic lights controlling movement. This is a usable alternative but will have less positive impacts on the wider neighbourhood.
Low impact: significantly increased distance and increased journey times
e
Option 3 (split road) prohibits access from Hayton Road to Don Street thus significantly reducing the main flow of through traffic. Furthermore, it provides more space for people crossing the junction on foot, by bike and wheel and is currently the preferred option.
85%
Plac
Option 1 (no private vehicle access) and Option 2 (one way eastbound) would have removed (or significantly reduced) through traffic and thus would have met the project design objectives. However, the community considered these to be too restrictive and therefore, they will not be developed further.
High impact: significantly increased distance, increased journey times, 20mph zones and traffic calming
Concept Design
To further impact on through traffic, the Split Road design has been developed further as shown on page 44-45.
The project team has made an assumption that there will be a much greater reassignment of traffic within the neighbourhood based on the entire project design. The best way to test this is to conduct a street trial over a six month period, after the design has been developed further. The trial could include using the Sustrans Street Kit to change the road layout, temporary kerbs, drilled speed humps, planters and seating.
Don
Don Street Bridge Communities Preference
Suggested reduction in Westbound through traffic
Further Measures
Figure 41: Parking provision within the concept design Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Public drop-in session for the Develop stage Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Figure 42: General Arrangement Plan (Appendix R)
41
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Hayton Road Centre
yt
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Figure 42: Hayton Road Centre Plan View
The design for this area, between Dill Road and the Tillydrone Community Campus, looks at creating a vibrant destination for the community and businesses.
Ro
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hayton road centre - visual
Formalised parking with timed loading outside the businesses and one bay for blue badge holders
Existing zebra crossing raised, widened and repainted
Enhanced area outside the businesses with seating, planting and cycle parking
N
Road raised
Benefits of this concept design: • Reduced vehicle speed;
Enhanced greenspace with boulders to provide natural play/seating (see Appendix S for more detail)
• Cycling on carriageway; • Increased footfall for local businesses;
ad
• Play and seating;
n to
Ro
Existing zebra crossing raised, widened and repainted
y
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• Enhanced area to spend time in; and • Parking formalised and loading at certain times.
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• Consider benches with support (backs and arm rest).
Dill Roa
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Recommendations for developed design: • Further engagement with local businesses to discuss delivery access, loading times and landownership permissions; and
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Further details for the natural play ideas can be found in Appendix S.
Dill Roa
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Current situation on Hayton Rd Go
Tactile material
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BUS P STO
Enhanced public space with trees and seating
Centre line removed
BUS STOP
TIMED LOADING BAY
Road raised, narrowed to 6m wide (still two way) and centre line removed
Mon-Sat 8.30am - 6.30pm
Tillydrone Pharmacy
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Note: the design for this area is subject to further development and technical design Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Widened and re-surfaced pavements
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don street bridge- visual
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Bollards added to one side to prohibit private vehicles driving over the pavement
Carriageway raised with a change of material to signify this as being a residential area, not a through route.
Benefits of this concept design: • Residential area rather than a through route; • Cycling on carriageway;
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• Full emergency and local access; and • Pedestrian desire lines met. Recommendations for developed design: • Further engagement with Network Rail; • Further measures including 20mph zone of the entire neighbourhood, re-design Gordon’s Mill’s Road junction; and consideration of a one-way (eastbound) on Donview Place;
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Following feedback received at the Display event in June and further analysis of through traffic within the area, the Split Road design has been developed further. The changes that have been made are highlighted in pink on the visualisation.
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The design for this area, significantly reduces the main flow of through traffic and provides more space for people crossing the junction on foot, by bike and wheel.
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Figure 43: Don Street Bridge Plan View
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Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
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BBUUSS OOPP
Hayton Road Gateway
hayton road gateway- visual
Figure 44: Hayton Road Gateways Plan View
The design for this area looks at creating a slower, welcoming entrance into Hayton Road from Tillydrone Road that prioritises walking, cycling and wheeling.
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Benefits of this concept design: • Reduced vehicle speed turning into/out of Hayton Road;
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• Priority for people on foot, by bike and wheel crossing the junction;
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Community-led gateway being developed with funding from Sustrans ArtRoots Fund
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Current situation of junction at Tillydrone Road
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Woodside Gateway The design for this area looks at creating a slower, welcoming entrance into Don Street and Western Road from Great Northern Road that prioritises walking, cycling and wheeling.
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• Pedestrian space enhanced and desire lines met; and
Enhanced greenspace with native planting, colourful sculptures, seating and the reinstatement of the Woodside Fountain(see page X)
Centre line removed
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• Formalised parking.
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Removed left hand filter lane onto Great Northern Road to shorten crossing distance and reduce traffic volume (vehicles would still be able to turn left)
Continuous footway to give priority to people crossing the road
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Woodside Gateway Feature The project team has worked with Bigg Design to develop a feature for the Woodside Gateway that creates a mini-park, providing a warm welcome to the neighbourhood through a sculpture, planting and the reinstatement of the fountain.
Sculptural pieces reflect Woodside’s proud heritage from the old canal and development of the railway to the Grandholm Mill with its world-famous Crombie Cloth and the Donside & Mugiemoss Paper Mills.
The ‘Woodside Fountain’ has been positioned centre-stage, combining the best of past and present, whilst the shapes of the new elements echo the fountain.
Local nature to be found in and around Woodside is represented here (developed with the Fersands Adult Art Class)
The gateway feature could be enhanced at night with the use of energy-efficient LED flood lights, whilst marker lights on top of the columns would create a fantastic beacon effect - shining lights welcoming you home.
Benefits of this design: • Creates a sense of arrival at Don Street; • Enhances community identity by highlighting elements of local ecology, history, and the Woodside Fountain replica; • Creates accessible, informal seating; • Enhances the greenspace area with colourful, vibrant planting; and • Improves lighting to increase feelings of safety at night. Recommendations for developed design: • Bigg Design to develop further into technical drawings for construction. Further details for planting and hardscape materials can be found in Appendix T.
Colourful polycarbonate pieces cast colourful shadows across the pavement during the day like stained glass. Smooth concrete forms anchor the columns and provide casual seating to rest on the way to the shops, watch the world go by and catch up with friends. Woodside Fountain
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New planting creates a beautiful backdrop of native species such as heathers, birch tree and wild grasses, whilst attractive paving creates a high quality plaza. Developed with Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
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underpassHayton Roadvisual Underpass Visual
Hayton Road Underpass The design for this area looks at improving visibility for people crossing, entering into and making aesthetic improvements to the passageway through the underpass from Hayton Road.
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Park and stride signage introduced as key link through to school
Riverbank Primary School PARK & STRIDE
Benefits of this design: • Reduced vehicle speed; • Pedestrian space enhances and desire lines met;
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Recommendations for developed design: • Explore options for Park & Stride area on Hayton Road including provision of more light for children travelling during winter months.
Raised zebra crossing Hayto
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Enhanced railway fencing with colour, seating and plants (see page 53)
Figure 46: Hayton Road Underpass Plan View
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Current view of the railway fence line along Hayton Road Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Note: the design for this area is subject to further engagement with Network Rail, development and technical design Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Underpass improvements through lighting, colour and mirrors to aid visibility (see page 53)
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Hayton Road Underpass-Passageway and Railway Fencing
conclusion
Figure 50: Underpass entrance
The project team has worked with Bigg Design to develop a concept for the underpass and associated security fencing to create a more welcoming approach and fun environment. Benefits of this design: • Mirror polished stainless steel and colourful floor treatment creating a kaleidoscopic effect and making the previously claustrophobic underpass seem spacious.
Figure 47: Underpass visibility
• Angled mirror to see around the corner on approach giving peace of mind before entering;
• Option of cycle ramp to make it easier to use for bikes.
Figure 48: Underpass steps
New planting creates attractive, textured, scented and low maintenance feature to walls.
This chapter concludes the Handover Report and focuses on how the concept design should be taken forward alongside recommendations for continuing community engagement, behaviour change, stakeholder engagement and monitoring and evaluation.
Colourful painted railings and ground treatment make the approach much more welcoming.
Concept Design The long stretch of railings running along Hayton Road and over the bridge get the same colourful treatment and can be combined with benches and planters. The theme of colourful verticals ties in with the Woodside Gateway Feature.
Conclusion
• Further engagement required with the proposed Housing Developer on Western Road to ensure any future developments within the underpass consider accessibility for everyone.
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project Developed with
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Committee in September 2019 for approval
• A baseline report of the conducted monitoring and evaluation.
• Improved step surface provides stable footing; and
• Consider colour patterns following feedback received from the Disability Equity Partnership; and
The project team are handing over the following:
• Site specific recommendations on Behaviour Change Measures; and
• Improved drainage solves flooding issues;
• Site visit with Network Rail, Aberdeen City Council and Bigg Design to discuss structure and future maintenance;
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• A more engaged and empowered community, supportive of the proposed designs;
• Cladding the walls and ceiling to keep the passage dry, avoiding drips;
Recommendations for developed design: • Bigg Design to develop further into technical drawings for construction;
The Tilly-Wood Street Design Project has been developed into a concept design following12 months of partnership working with Aberdeen City Council and collaboration with the communities of Tillydrone and Woodside. At this stage, the project team are handing the project over to Aberdeen City Council and the project Steering Group for further development, technical design and delivery.
• A concept design, representing the community’s needs and aspiration of how the re-designed street environment could look;
• Energy-efficient LED lighting to create a bright and welcoming space;
Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Design led walk during public design consultation © K.I.S Photography Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Chapter Summary:
The concept design being handed over is based on ideas for improvement and key themes, identified by and developed with the community early on: • Improving pavement conditions; • Reducing and slowing down traffic; • Providing safer crossings;
Design objectives to continue to be
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Recommendations to develop
designs further in line with Sustrans Design Principles; and DD
Concept design to be taken to
to develop further.
deliver a better walking experience for all people to and from local destinations deliver a better cycling experience for all people, including an unaccompanied 12 year old child, to and from local destinations deliver better access for people with disabilities to and from local destinations deliver an attractive, quiet, green environment that improves public space and liveability by prioritising sociability and play for all provide for practical delivery access to local businesses while prioritising customers and staff accessing businesses on foot, by bike or on public transport
• Enhancing the public space; and • Adding more greenery and informal play opportunities. These themes have been combined with a set of design objectives to steer and assess the concept.
reduce to an absolute minimum, through traffic on Hayton Road and Don Street without significantly moving it onto other residential streets 55
When developing the concept design further, the objectives should continue to be used to assess and evaluate the details. The concept design being handed over includes the following: •
General Arrangement Plan
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Hayton Road Centre
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Don Street Bridge
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Hayton Road Gateway
•
Woodside Gateway
•
Hayton Road Underpass
Vehicle Movements One of the main barriers raised by the community was that current speed and volume of vehicle movements is stopping people from walking, cycling and enjoying the neighbourhood more. For many, reducing traffic speed and volume was one of the top priorities for improvement. The vehicle movement surveys and analysis undertaken during the project supports this, specifically the analysis of through traffic using the area. The purpose of the project therefore is to ensure traffic volume and speed is reduced to meet Sustrans Scotland current guidance on facilitating independent walking, cycling, and wheeling for everyone, including an unaccompanied 12-year old. The Split Road design for Don Street Bridge is currently considered the best solution for significantly reducing through traffic and thus supports the project ambition of making the area a more attractive place for residents to walk, cycle, wheel and spend time in. The project team has made an assumption that there will be a much greater re-assignment of traffic within the neighbourhood based on the entire project design. The best way to test this is to conduct a street trial over a six month period, after the design has been developed further. An experimental Traffic Regulation Order would allow for further engagement with the community and monitoring and evaluation 56
Community Engagement
of air quality, traffic levels and movement patterns before a permanent solution is agreed.
Throughout the project, extensive and meaningful engagement has been delivered. Due to the Street Design element of the project being complete, engagement is not likely to continue at the same level however the community should still be at the heart of the decision making process. The project Steering Group, made up of key community representatives, should continue to meet, communicate to the wider community and sign off on designs being developed further. Aberdeen City Council is also encouraged to make use of the project website to share updates with the registered mailing list and promote updates through the channels established during the concept stage.
Artwork The project team has worked with Bigg Design to develop a feature for Woodside Gateway, the railway underpass and security fencing. Aberdeen City Council’s City Grown and Resources Committee has awarded £90,000 of funding to the project for improvements to the underpass, railway fencing and Woodside Gateway. Once approved, it is recommended that Bigg Design is commissioned to develop these designs into technical drawings for delivery.
Developed Design
Behaviour Change
As the project is at concept stage, specific details of the design have not yet been decided. This detail will need further consideration by Aberdeen City Council but are to be designed in line with Sustrans Design Principles to ensure future applications to Sustrans for funding are accepted:
Alongside the design development and community engagement, the project team have delivered activities to develop site specific recommendations on behaviour change measures which can be delivered in the short or long term. The project team is handing over these recommendations to Aberdeen City Council and the wider community. This report summarises the current barriers faced by the community to walking, cycling and wheeling in the study area and outlines available support and funding opportunities across Aberdeen and wider.
• Develop ideas collaboratively and in partnership with communities. • Facilitate independent walking, cycling, and wheeling for everyone, including an unaccompanied 12-year old. • Design places that provide enjoyment, comfort and protection.
Monitoring and Evaluation
• Ensure access for all and equality of opportunity in public space.
During the project, a series of monitoring methods have been delivered to collect pre works monitoring or baseline data. This includes:
• Ensure all proposals are developed in a way that is context-specific and evidence-led. • Reallocate road space, and restrict motor traffic permeability to prioritise people walking, cycling and wheeling over private motor vehicles. Furthermore, the concept design is subject to further development, technical design, and engagement with stakeholders.
• Households surveys • Business retail and customer surveys • People movement surveys • Vehicle movement surveys Design walk during public design consultation © K.I.S Photography Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
A pedestrian and cyclist count was not conducted due to the Tillydrone Community Tilly-Wood Street Design Project
Campus being under construction. This should be undertaken by Aberdeen City Council during the developed design stage of the project to provide baseline figures. Once the project has been delivered, Sustrans Research and Monitoring team are to conduct post works monitoring to measure the impact of the project in terms of the Street Design outcomes of: •
Stronger communities
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More walking and cycling
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Better quality places
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Support the need for change
Stakeholder engagement During the concept design stage, early engagement has taken place with relevant stakeholders and landowners in the area. As the concept stage is now complete, the responsibility for continuing this engagement lies with Aberdeen City Council. Emergency Services Police Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and Scottish Ambulance Service were provided with a copy of the initial designs in May 2019 and were invited to comment. Police Scotland responded positively and their Officers and Sergeants have been active members of the project Steering Group while also attending most of the engagement events to provide feedback at every stage. Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and Scottish Ambulance Service did not respond. Further engagement with the Emergency Services is required, especially on emergency access within the Split Road design for Don Street Bridge. Network Rail Network Rail were provided with a copy of the concept design in June 2019 and have been invited to comment following attempts to arrange a site visit during the initial stages of the project. The project team are awaiting a response.
Showcase event displaying the concept design
The underpass has been a long standing concern forpublic the community. Further Showcase drop in event engagement with Network Rail is essential to ensure proposed designs for Don Street Bridge and the underpass can be developed. A site visit to discuss the proposed designs for the underpass with Bigg Design, Aberdeen City Council and Network Rail is recommended to discuss the proposed designs and future maintenance.
current budget constraints. More information on Sustrans Scotland Places for Everyone Funding Programme can be found here: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ scotland/places-for-everyone.
Next steps While the Street Design element of the project is complete, Sustrans is still an active partner in the Tilly-Wood Street Design Project moving forward. Aberdeen City Council, in partnership with Sustrans, will prepare a report for submission to Committee in September 2019 to seek approval to develop the concept design further. If Committee approval is secured, Aberdeen City Council could then apply to Sustrans Scotland Places for Everyone Programme for 100% funding to develop detailed and technical design. At a later stage, Aberdeen City Council could then apply again to Sustrans Scotland for 50% funding to deliver the project. Sustrans Scotland will work with Aberdeen City Council to identify match funding opportunities to ensure the project can be delivered within 57
Appendix Notes Appendix A: Aberdeen City Council Locality Plan 2017 Appendix B: Living Streets Report Appendix C: Equality Impact Assessment Appendix D: Baseline Monitoring Report Appendix E: Through Traffic Analysis Report Appendix F: Session 1 Event Boards Appendix G: Session 2 Event Boards Appendix H: Session 3 Event Boards Appendix I: Session 4 Event Boards Appendix J: Communications and Engagement Plan Appendix K: Promotion Appendix L: Press Articles Appendix M: Community Articles Appendix O: Feedback Forms Appendix P: Discover Stage Report Appendix Q: Design Stage Report Š JJ Mcguckin, Sustrans Scotland
Appendix
Appendix R: General Arrangement Plan (A0) Appendix S: Hayton Road Natural Play Details Appendix T: Woodside Gateway Soft and Hard Material Details
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