Town Centre Pedestrianised Areas

There are areas in the town centre which are pedestrianised, and legally only certain types of vehicles are permitted to drive in them e.g. delivery vehicles, taxis. Many drivers ignore the signage and whilst Police enforcement did take place last year, the Police do not have the resources to undertake enforcement on a day-to-day basis.

Removing unauthorised vehicles will improve the town centre environment, making it safer and more pleasant for pedestrians and cyclists.

There are a series of works which will take place within the town centre associated with the funding. It is anticipated that these works will start in the Spring of 2026 and take a year to complete. The works will be undertaken by a contractor who will be working across all the Levelling Up Fund projects.

The timing of the works associated with the access control measures will be communicated with businesses and users of the town centre once the contractor has been appointed and their works programme finalised.

The locations have been chosen at the entry and exit for each of the pedestrianised areas, where possible at the wider points on the footway and away from the doors to businesses.

Exit measures are required to prevent vehicles from reversing down the one-way roads to gain unauthorised access.

In front of the access control measures, ‘rise and fall’ bollards there would be an electro-magnetic loop in the road. This loop will sense the presence of a vehicle.

Next to the bollards there will be a small set of traffic signals, a red light, and a green light.

Before 11am and after 4pm the bollards will automatically fall when a vehicle is sensed, the green light will show, and drivers can proceed. The bollards will then rise. Close following drivers run the risk of the bollards rising and damaging their vehicle. Each driver must therefore wait until the bollards have risen and then wait for the green light.

Between 11am and 4pm entrance will only be permitted to vehicles which have either a ‘fob’ or code to operate the bollards and enter the area. The Council will issue these. It will be for each business to determine their requirements in consultation with officers.

At the end of the pedestrianised areas the bollards will operate automatically at all times of the day. A fob/code will therefore not be required for exiting vehicles.

The areas are pedestrianised and during 11 am to 4 pm access would be restricted to essential deliveries only e.g. those deliveries which are part of a longer distance route and cannot change their timing. There will be on-going dialogue with businesses to discuss their individual requirements.

Local deliveries will be encouraged to take place before 11am and after 4pm to minimise the number of vehicles when higher numbers of pedestrians are walking through the areas and to safely accommodate outdoor hospitality.

Before 11am and after 4pm Blue badge holders and taxis will be able to enter Thunderton Place. Likewise, vehicles associated with take-away businesses on Commerce Street and Batchen Street.

The Aberdeen Bus Gate has warning signs only and no physical measures. The pedestrianised areas in Elgin already have signage which is not adhered to by drivers.

Visitors unfamiliar to Aberdeen are sometimes ‘caught out’ by the bus gates and travel through them. Physical measures prevent these mistakes and will support the safe use of footways for outdoor hospitality.

Deliveries for businesses, residents with off-street parking, refuse collection vehicles and emergency vehicles.

Emergency services will be issued with fobs/the code. They will therefore be able to access the area at any time.

Temporary access to the areas for construction related activities will be permitted, through issue of a permit and temporary fob or access code. Vehicles will not be permitted to move between 11am and 4pm, in keeping with the existing Pedestrianisation Orders.

The general public will not be permitted access, in keeping with the existing Pedestrianisation Orders for the town centre.

Businesses/residents will be approached to discuss their access requirements. Businesses will be encouraged, where possible, to time deliveries before 11am and after 4pm. The fobs/codes will be issued by the Council before the access control measures are operational.

Information sessions will be held with the businesses/residents on how to operate the access control measures will also take place once they have been installed and before they are operational.

If you lose the fob/code, you will need to contact the Council for a replacement. You will be charged for the replacement of lost fobs, and, like bank cards, the lost fob will no longer be recognised by the system.

Extra fobs in exceptional circumstances can be issued where a specific need is identified and agreed with the Council.

Yes, but only between 11am and 4pm, and on areas not required for emergency and delivery vehicle access e.g. on Batchen Street a business would be able to place tables and chairs on the footway, but not on the road. (Permission is required from the Council as the Roads Authority and, if alcohol is to be served, as the Licensing Authority.)

A maintenance contract will be in place should the bollards fail. There may be a brief period when the bollards are ‘fixed’ in the raised position before they are reset/repaired. Temporary traffic management will be put in place. Deliveries will need to be from the loading bays on the High Street.

For longer term issues (e.g. when awaiting a replacement part) it is anticipated they will be fixed in the lowered position.

Blue Badge holders will not be permitted in the pedestrianised areas, except for Thunderton Place (see below).

The existing disabled parking on Commerce Street will be removed and replaced with a new area on the High Street West and an additional space on High Street East.

In Thunderton Place, access to the disabled parking will be permitted before 11am and after 4pm, during which the bollards will automatically sense the presence of a vehicle and operate to allow passing. Vehicles parked before 11am will be able to exit at any time.

The existing Pedestrianisation Orders do not permit access to general traffic to drop off passengers. This will still be the case when the access control measures are in place.

If you have a permit for the Church, you will be issued with a fob/the code to access The Plainstones. Access will be monitored to ensure there is no misuse of the fob.

Funeral and wedding vehicles will be granted temporary access by arrangement. General vehicles associated with these events will not be permitted.

Close following vehicles will be damaged by the bollard. The timing of the bollards will be set to permit one vehicle to pass through at a time. This is to deter misuse and will be indicated on the associated signing. Vehicles permitted to enter the pedestrianised areas will need to wait for the bollards to rise and then enter when the signal is green again.

The businesses will be given fobs/the access code and if you call them, they will make arrangements to enable entry.

There are delivery bays on the High Street, both east and west which can be used for deliveries to Thunderton Place, Batchen Street, The Plainstones and Commerce Street.

The Council has an out of hours service which operates on holidays and at the weekends. This service will be the first point of contact if there are issues with the ‘rise and fall’ bollards.

The supplier of the bollards has yet to be identified. One of the criteria for identifying the supply will be how their system responds to power cuts and failure.