The application of major road infrastructure to support and drive sustainable urban mobility

The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) is a major 58km roads infrastructure project with funding partners including Transport Scotland, two local Municipal Authorities and the Scottish Futures Trust. The project aims to have significantly positive impacts on congestion, economic growth, safety and, crucially, a lowered regional impact on the environment. These environmental benefits are predicted specifically to impact on traffic emissions (due to an improvement in the free flow of traffic) and improved air quality in urban areas, with this carrying the potential to assist with the implementation of pedestrian and cycle friendly interventions in Aberdeen itself. Local studies have sought to explore how the city and region can plan to 'lock in' these benefits, through a range of projects concentrated on changes in modal split between transport methods, and support for organisations and individuals to enact change (through shared transport, for example). The use of smart technology and planned freight movement also requires careful management. This research concerns the ways in which the implementation of such a major infrastructure project can be regarded as holding potential to support the introduction of associated sustainable mobility interventions. In that sense, the research aims to explore how the AWPR might be regarded as being part of a wider greening of transport in the region. The research also explores how this must be planned and implemented in a context where the associated sustainable mobility projects are central to realising these 'green' benefits, with a commitment to ensuring that associated social and economic benefits can lead to improvements in quality of life. Current initiatives are detailed, with a critical discussion of their implementation and planned or anticipated impact.