The Aberdeen Cycle Forum is dismayed to see the city council is planning to remove the cycle lanes at the beach. The segregated cycle path was installed less than two months ago using money from the Sustrans Spaces of People fund as a way to allow for social distancing during this pandemic.
The beach path was the very first of its kind in the city and provided hope for cyclists that this would be the start of a connected network of paths. Aberdeen city currently accommodates cyclists poorly and the environment on the roads can feel hostile and dangerous. This presents a barrier to people and discourages them from cycling.
You don’t have to be a cyclist yourself to benefit from cycling infrastructure. People who replace trips by car with trips be bike lower the carbon footprint of the community, reduce expenses for the NHS, and lower air pollution in the city. This benefits the entire community.
If you’re as disappointed as we are by the council’s decision then please write to your local councillor. You can find emails at the links below:
You can find your local councillor at this link: your councillor
Email the transport spokesperson: Councillor Sandra Macdonald
Email the transport strategy team: transport strategy
We recommend emailing all three. If you live in Aberdeenshire then just use the second two emails.
Aberdeen Cycle Forum 
This is a really frustrating decision. Do you think this decision is final? Can it be overturned? Can Cycling UK help you to create more noise and start a campaign? Please email me and perhaps we can discuss what more we can do. jim.densham@cyclinguk.org
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In Sussex the councils are doing the same it’s down to motorist vehicle drivers complaining I’ve even had one person say that when I pay road tax then I can have rights to the road
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Does anybody have any data to indicate the number of users of the new coastal path please?
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It’s possible the council has some data but you have to remember that this path was only installed in September and doesn’t yet connect anywhere. It only goes back and forth at the beach. It needs to connect to other destinations before any assessment on usage can be made.
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Thanks Rachel, I understand, a comment has been made about it on the Cycling UK Scotland Facebook page and an increase in usage was referenced, so I wondered where this claim had come from as the increase in use has been disputed, I was hoping to source some data. Cheers for your response
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My councillor told me one of the reasons for the removal of the path was low usage to which my response was as above – they hadn’t yet built the connecting bits and 54 days is insufficient to judge.
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