Automated Pedestrian/Cycle Counter Maintenance
Works completed for installation and commissioning of replacement batteries for counters, as required, in January 2025. Annual software/telemetry licence renewals also completed in January 2025. Counters requiring repair removed from site. Quotes for repairs sought, however these could not be programmed in to the 24/25 financial year by the suppliers, due to the contracted maintenance programme this year. To partially offset underspend of funds previously reserved for these repairs, call-off batteries for sites due a change within the next year have been purchased instead and the required repairs will be programmed in once budget is confirmed for the 25/26 FY.

Cycle Repair Stand Maintenance

As a result of circumstances beyond their control, the maintenance contractor found themselves unable to carry out the final quarterly maintenance visit at the beginning of March as scheduled. This maintenance visit will now take place at the beginning of April instead. The contractor has confirmed that this delay will have no impact on the programme of maintenance visits for 2025/26. The costs to date for ad-hoc maintenance, such as the replacement of missing or vandalised tools, are very similar to those incurred for 2023/24 after three maintenance visits. Any additional costs arising from the delayed visit will be absorbed by the 2025/26 budget.

Secure Cycle Storage

Following site visits, four shortlisted sites have been identified and appraised. From these, one site has been discounted leaving us with three.

Our preferred option would be to install two lots of six lockers – three beside Deeside Way in the car park at Station Road East in Peterculter and either three at the old library site in Cults or three at the old Station site in Cults. This split option will allow us to bring benefit to the largest number of potential users and get a feel for which locations are more popular should we want to upscale provision in the future.

The Council’s Estates Teams were first approached in September 2024 to check land ownership for all sites and to advise if there are any restrictions on these sites. A response was finally received in December 2024. While they have confirmed that the Council owns all four sites, they have advised that the land at Cults Station is leased to a tenant so will require the tenant’s permission while they have not yet been able to confirm the long term plans for the former Cults Library.

Given the delays with establishing land ownership and the need to still seek further permissions, there is now a risk that the project cannot be fully delivered by the end of March 2025. However, we are currently doing the following:

• Approached the Chief Officer, Corporate Landlord to ask if he can give us a quick answer on whether . It’s a great visible site with decent natural surveillance so would make an ideal location if we can make it work.
• Have confirmed to estates that we would like them to approach the tenant at Cults Station – they have to do this not us – but have furnished estates with a proposed letter for the tenant outlining the project details and asking for the tenant’s agreement
• Approach the four suppliers who quoted for the lockers to ask the following
• Can they give us a refreshed quote for installation in 2 sites at once?
• Can they give us a refreshed quote for installation in 1 site for all 6 lockers
• Can they give us a quote for splitting 2 site installations across two different visits?
• What is the last date we can order for work to be done this financial year?

This will allow us to establish how deliverable the Library and Cults Station sites are and whether we are able to go for a split or whether we would be better to just install all lockers at Peterculter. Getting cost comparisons for splitting the work, in terms of timings will let us see if the split option is cost effective. Knowing this, and having the confirmation from estates, will allow us to know:

• Whether we should be delivering all lockers at Peterculter for cost/ and or permission reasons
• Whether the above can happen this financial year
• Whether, if there are delays in getting confirmations from estates, half of the project could still be delivered this year

To ensure that the project is able to be fully delivered, even if that ends up falling into the next Financial Year, officers have put together a bid to Nestrans for £18,000 in 2025/26 for cycle lockers. This would allow officers primarily to finish off the 2024/25 project but also to deliver further sites across Aberdeen.

Maintenance Stands

The third quarter maintenance visit took place over the 2nd to the 4th December. There were no significant issues of note, but ad-hoc repair (tool replacement etc.) costs of £376.93 were incurred.

Automated Pedestrian/Cycle Counter Maintenance

Quotation sought for 12 month software/telemetry licences for 18 no. ped/cycle counters that are currently out with the maintenance period procured as part of their initial installation, as well as pro-rata software/telemetry licences for 4 no. ped/cycle counters for which the maintenance period procured as part of their initial installation is due to end within the next 12 months. A Purchase Order for the necessary licences has subsequently been raised (£7,568.41) and it is anticipated that this order shall be fulfilled by the supplier imminently.

A Purchase Order for the installation and commissioning of replacement batteries for 12 no. sites has also been raised, including the purchase of additional batteries as required (£2,710.00). Battery changes for these sites were completed by the supplier during the w/c 06 January 2025, along wi th inspections of these sites to determine maintenance/repair requirements. Currently awaiting site report from the supplier to ascertain maintenance/repair requirements, which remaining funds shall be utilised to address.

Secure Cycle Storage

Aberdeen City Council have begun scoping out locations on the Deeside way/ A93 corridor for locating cycle lockers. A site visit, on bike, has also been undertaken to examine travel times along the Deeside way between Peterculter, Robert Gordon University and Aberdeen City Centre. This has led to a report, documenting the appraisal process and findings and a shortlist of 4 potential sites. We have now engaged with our estates colleagues to ask about land ownership an  feasibility of delivering each location. This may inform whether we take forward one or more locations too.

In addition, Aberdeen City Council are looking at potential locker types/ designs and whether there is the ability to install something innovative that we have not tried in Aberdeen yet. Robert Gordon University is being considered as one of the destinations that could benefit from “park and cycle” facilities along the Deeside Way/ A93 corridor. Providing another means of making cycling more attractive and accessible to people could encourage more of them to cycle to work along this corridor for all or part of their journey.

The 2022 census reveals that 30% of Aberdeen households do not have a car. Therefore, providing people with greater facilities to make non-car modes more attractive will help meet the needs of people who don’t rely on cars, as well as helping give car drivers more alternatives to driving. The lockers will help to support schemes such as IBike which build capacity and capability within people by giving them more options to park and cycle. The project also fits with the recommendations in the A93 multi-modal corridor study.

Maintenance Stands

Aberdeen City Council currently has a 5 year maintenance contract in place with an external partner which includes for four maintenance visits per annum, carried out on a quarterly basis. During these visits proactive maintenance on the repair stands and tools is carried out and any damaged or lost tools are replaced to ensure the repair stands remain available for use and fit for purpose.
Due to the delay in receiving confirmation of the grant award, discussions were held with colleagues in the Finance team to ensure that the costs associated with the maintenance contract i.e. the costs associated with the maintenance visits and any required ad-hoc maintenance, could still be paid, to ensure the Council would meet its contractual obligations.

Automated Pedestrian/ Cycle Counters

Officers have begun scoping out battery change requirements and sites that will require maintenance attention once funding is available.