Dudhope Roundabout: Gateway to Dundee? Introduction
Strategic Gateway Dundee is located in the East of Scotland, north of Edinburgh and Fife. Dudhope Roundabout is the Gateway located to the North West of Dundee City Centre. A Gateway has three main roles: it gives an impression of the town to visitors; it gives an identity to the town; and it provides an area of connectivity.
Forfar
Angus &Perthshire
As a strategic gateway, the roundabout forms the main entry point to Dundee city centre for vehicles accessing the city which originated in parts of Angus via the Coupar Angus Road (A923) and Lochee Road. The roundabout also forms part of the ring road which circles the city centre (A991). This takes traffic from the West end of Dundee across to the A930, taking vehicles across to Broughty Ferry and up the coast to Carnoustie. It also allows traffic to move from the West end of Dundee to the A92, taking vehicles up the East Coast, ultimately to Arbroath and Aberdeen.
Arbroath & Aberdeen
Carnoustie
Perth
Glenrothes & Edinburgh
Cupar & St. Andrews
Figure 1: Location of Gateway
Other vehicles may pass through this roundabout to Figure 3: Routes to the Wider access the A929 (Albert Street) which leads to the A92; this leads past Forfar. Vehicles travelling down West Marketgait can access Riverside Drive and head West towards Perth. Design codes are a form of detailed guidance to provide a ‘pattern book’ which detail clearly and exactly the limitations on the design of buildings, the choice of streetscape materials, private landscaping options and ornamentation restrictions in different locations within the plan area (CABE, 2003: 6).
To the South, vehicles can travel across the Tay Bridge and access Glenrothes, Cupar, St. Andrews and, ultimately, Edinburgh.
Policy Context
Key General Economic Development Area
Higher Educational Institute H Brownfield Housing Development Proposal City Centre Boundary Housing Investment Focus Area S Potential Student Housing Opportunity
Local Gateway
Figure 2 shows the Dundee City Council Local Plan (2005) policies and allocations of land close to Dudhope Roundabout. The Gateway sits directly on the edge of the Local Plan defined ‘City Centre’. The area to the South West is a General Economic Development Area, where Class 4,5 and 6 developments will be permitted. This is marked for a regeneration Masterplan. To the East of the Gateway is Abertay University and to the South is Dundee University. The opportunity for student housing — recently developed — is marked to the north of the roundabout.
Figure 2: Local Plan Allocations, Source: Dundee City Council, 2005
Ruth Bickerton
North Marketgait
Lochee Road
West Marketgait
Figure 4: Local Links
To Lochee Road: Vehicles can travel from Marketgait (West) and (South) to Lochee Road and the facilities of Lochee High Street. To West Marketgait: From the Lochee Road and North Marketgait , vehicles can access West Marketgait , which leads to Dundee University campus (via Hawkhill). There are various nightclubs located at the roundabout with Hawkhill. Further down and to the East is Nethergate, Dundee’s main retail area and to the West is the bottom end of the Perth Road, Dundee’s main student area and home of the Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre. There is a strong concentration of bars, pub, restaurants and clubs along this stretch.
To North Marketgait: This route takes vehicles to the north of the city centre. Constitution Road forms a link to the residential area north of the gateway, as well as Dundee College and Dudhope Park. There are no local links to the South directly following the roundabout as the A991 becomes a dual carriageway; the first opportunity to go South once on this road are at Ladywell Roundabout.
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Dudhope Roundabout: Identity and Impression A gateway…gives an identity to an area The land uses around the roundabout are shown in Figure 5. The uses are varied, comprising general industrial, residential, places of worship, retail, police headquarters and a mortuary. Whilst the land uses are many, they are zoned to an extent, with the industrial area to the West of the roundabout, residential mainly to the North and Police to the South East. The identity afforded by these buildings is actually a good introduction to what Dundee is about: it demonstrates the town’s industrial economic base (Figures 5a, 5b and 5d), as well as its traditional industry with the former jute mill (Figure 5k) . The redevelopment of the jute mill mirrors well Dundee’s changing face, with economic transformation from traditional manufacturing industries to other sectors such as Life Sciences and Digital Media (Dundee City Council, 2008: 14). The student accommodation represents the strong influence of both Dundee University and Abertay University on the city’s demographics, economy and profile. Views of the area... On a weekend site visit, pedestrians were asked their opinion of the area. In general, feelings were apathetic or even hostile towards the local environment. Responses of some of these pedestrians included:
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“Those 60s buildings are horrible… they should be pulled down.” “It doesn't give much of an impression … it’s just dull and a mess” “The new flats bring some nice colour to the area but they’re too tall” “The student flats make the area look like a ghetto!” “I like the old jute mills… why can’t new buildings be like these?”
Place of Worship General Industrial Retail Police HQ & Mortuary Car Park Open space
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Figure 5: Land Use Map
A gateway…gives an impression of an area The building types are disparate. The most recently built is Opal 1, private student accommodation (Figures 6a and 6b). It is a contemporary design, rising to 11 storeys at its highest and clad in orange, silver, mint and yellow . The buildings of the industrial area are old and tend to be fairly run down; however, the poor upkeep of the buildings disguises some very attractive buildings. The walls of the industrial area which line the pavement to the South West of the roundabout are windowless and of pebble‐dash (Figure 5m). The residential properties along Marketgait (Figure 5k) are renovated ex‐ jute mills, built in traditional style. The retail units (Figure 5j) adjacent to these mills are poor quality single storey units and the discount retail unit on the Lochee Road approach is particularly poor quality (Figure 5c). The police headquarters (Figures 5i and 5j) are both 1960s accommodation and are fairly unattractive and dated. The mortuary (Figure 5h), ironically, is a more attractive, more modern building. Elim Pentecostal Church (Figure 5g) is an unusual design of two pink, triangular adjoining buildings. These sit next to some very traditional Scottish tenement flats (Figure 5f). The varied heights of buildings are shown in Figure 6. The sheer scale of the Opal 1 building is evident; it is clearly out of scale with the other buildings (the scale of buildings is discussed in Poole, 2001: 28). Much of the public realm is very poor quality. For example, the verges are badly kempt (Figure 6c).
pedestrians in particular, there are two sections of pavement with long stretches of unbroken walls with no ’human interaction’: the pebble‐dash wall of the industrial estate (Figure 5m) and the pavement level of the Opal 1 building (Figure 6a). These stretches do not engender a feeling of safety for the pedestrian as there is little opportunity for ‘surveillance’ by occupiers of the buildings, described as ‘natural proprietors of the street’ (Jacobs, 1961: .35). Opal 1 includes some metal ‘artwork’ (Figure 6b) which is not particularly attractive or meaningful to the local area. There are no particularly impressive features of architecture at the roundabout. The impression given to visitors (including pedestrians and those travelling by vehicles) will be mixed.
2 storeys 3 storeys 4 storeys 5‐9 storeys 10 storeys +
Figure 6: Heights of Buildings c
Ruth Bickerton
Key 1 storey
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Dudhope Roundabout: Making the Connections A gateway...provides an area of connectivity For Vehicles For vehicles, the roundabout at the centre of the gateway provides the main roundabout for the bypass routes to the North, East and West of the City Centre. It also provides a route into the City Centre via West Marketgait. Figure 8 shows the main parking areas around Dundee City Centre. Two are close to the roundabout, however, both of them do not have access which is immediately obvious if travelling from West to East. For example, the parking at Dudhope Park is accessed to the East of the roundabout via Barrack Road. To park at Bell Street the vehicle has to travel down to Ladywell Roundabout and double back on itself because the road is a dual‐carriageway with a central reservation. There is a legibility issue (Bentley et al, 1985, p.76) ) with the approach from Lochee Road; it is difficult to know how to access the industrial area to the south west of Dudhope Roundabout (Brown Street, Douglas Street etc). Many of the roads are blocked by bollards and, once on Marketgait North, vehicles are unable to cross the central barriers to turn right. The only access road is Blinshaw Street and if this is missed, the vehicle has to travel to the Hawkhill roundabout and double back on itself. Signage could be improved in this area to improve access to this area. Possible vehicle routes are marked on Figure 7. For Pedestrians For pedestrians, the gateway provides routes from the residential area to the north (including the new student accommodation) through to the city centre, industrial area and Dundee and Abertay Universities. The pedestrian links across the gateway from North to South are poor (see Figure 11). The confusion of railings, particularly to the north and East of the gateway, are obvious. Figure 11a shows the frontage of Opal 1 has long, unbroken stretches of railings to prevent pedestrian crossing. There is an underpass some 150 metres to the East of the roundabout. However, this takes the pedestrian some way off route if they are trying to access destinations off Marketgait North. There is also a pedestrian crossing next to the Pentecostal Church. However, this is a confusing mass of railings (see Figures 11c and 11d) and are do not encourage use. Figure 11b shows a pedestrian simply ignoring the railings and standing in the road.
Access to Facilities Figure 9 shows facilities that people may wish to access in the City Centre, including the retail areas, Universities and tourism attractions. The MacManus Galleries are particularly close to this gateway, and pedestrians may travel through this gateway to access the building. Figure 10 shows the location of student pubs and bars close to the gateway; these will be frequently accessed by residents of Opal 1 in particular. These poor links could prove to be dangerous when residents are walking back from pubs and clubs wanting to get home as quickly and directly as possible. Figure 11: Pedestrian Crossings Around Gateway a
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Underpass
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Figure 7: Vehicular Access to the Employment Area
Figure 8: Car Parking and Public Transport
Figure 9: Universities, Retail and Tourist Attractions
Figure 10: Universities and Student Pubs/Clubs
Key Bollards—no entry
Key Parking Bus stops Railway station
Key Dundee University Abertay University Retail
Key Dundee University Abertay University Student Pubs & Clubs
Ruth Bickerton
McManus Galleries Caird Hall Dundee Contemporary Arts Sensation Science Centre Discovery Ship HMS Unicorn Proposed location‐V&A Museum
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Dudhope Roundabout: Detailing the Place 1
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Residential area
Employment area
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Police area
Suggested Crossing Point
Figure 12: Areas of Use and Suggested Crossing Points
Building Design The land uses around the roundabout are mixed (see 3 main areas in Figure 12 above). There is no homogenous building design around the roundabout and much of the existing stock is poor quality. Whilst no particular materials are recommended for new buildings, it is obvious that new buildings should be of a high quality design to improve the appearance of the area. In future developments: • Buildings need to be built in scale and building development should be restricted to a maximum of 6 storeys—in line with maximum pre‐Opal 1 heights. • Buildings should follow site boundaries. Active Frontages The large expanse of pebble‐dash wall on the corner of the Lochee Road and the long stretch of wall at ground level outside Opal 1 are intimidating for pedestrians and offer no natural surveillance. • The buildings should front onto the street, and corner buildings should also overlook more than one street. • Any large expanses of wall should have colour, texture and structural elements for decoration, and ideally include windows for natural surveillance. • The long stretch of wall at ground level outside Opal 1 should have appropriate greening to improve attractiveness. In future developments, such stretches of wall should not be permitted as part of designs. Active frontages onto street give good natural surveillance... Source: Eston Design Source: Poole Design Codes Codes Ruth Bickerton
Breaking up Blocks of Wall There are two large blocks of wall within the Gateway—Opal 1 facing up the Lochee Road and the end of the tenement block on Parker Street. • These large expanses of walls (Figures 12a and 12b) should have artwork/ decorations/ murals to improve the attractiveness of the buildings. Public Realm Public realm should be ‘stimulating and interesting’. The materials used for paving and verges around the gateway should be attractive and well‐kept (Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, 2010: 50). • Street lighting should enable safe movement of pedestrians and cyclists, whilst reducing the possibility of crime. It should also be of a quality to be attractive in daylight hours when not in use (see Figure 12c). • More high quality artwork should be included within the public realm to improve attractiveness of the area (an example is in Figure 12d). Artwork could be included on Dudhope Roundabout. Car Parking Large areas on land around the police headquarters and fronting onto the road are used for car parking (see Figure 12e). In future developments: • Expanses of car parking should not front the road, but be hidden behind building frontages. Pedestrian Crossings • More crossing points should be developed around Dudhope Roundabout for residents to the North of Dudhope Roundabout. Suggested new crossing points are shown in Figure 12. Signage • Signage should also be improved to convey direction and orientation for pedestrians accessing town centre attractions and retail areas. • Signage should be improved on the Lochee Road approach for drivers wishing to access the industrial area. Industrial Areas The employment area has a number of attractive buildings which are currently under‐used and poorly kept (see Figures 12h and 12i). To make improvements: • Storage and service areas should be hidden from public view. • Landscaping should be used to bring a unity to the area. (Poole, 2001, p.19). • Good quality industrial buildings should not have their design obscured by poor signage and paintwork.
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