Union Street CLOSED for 18 months

[@Sp0oney1]

Thanks for the vid! Spent a good few years in Aberdeen from 2009 to the end of 2012. havent been back since. Planning to visit soon! Great to see the city council finally doing something to revive Union Street (which i was told has been in the pipeline for many many years). Exciting times! cheers from KL, Malaysia.

[@scottg2754]

I spent some time in KL myself...loved it there too, as well as Penang. As far as the council here, they're trying, but seeing how other councils have gone about making changes and upgrades, they seem slower and haphazard here. I hope they get it right, especially since it will be closed for so long.

[@Sp0oney1]

@@scottg2754do keep us posted on the progress ! you have found yourself a new subscriber😄

[@scottg2754]

@@Sp0oney1 Thank you! I'll keep you posted as I make my way around the city. Union Street has a "working wall" like I used to see in China on construction sites when I lived there. I should be in the area in the next couple of days to shoot the progress, assuming I can actually see any.

[@TravelAbventuresUnbound]

Aberdeen, officially voted the most miserable city in Europe. Union street, vape shops, pound shops and charity shops, well that is what the taxi driver said in Glasgow, lol.

[@scottg2754]

Not surprised someone in Glasgow said that. I'm waiting to see how long the Union Street work will take. I actually saw something happen yesterday. First or second time since the barriers went up.

[@MultiZero1968]

Peoples lives are at risk as not even emergency services can get down that road. They are fed up of it and have complained to the council

[@scottg2754]

I don't think it was well thought-out and will be so much slower than it needs to be. I also think the practicality was neglected or simply not taken into consideration.

[@baphomet66and6]

This will decimate the remaining shops on the mile long street. Ok there will be some access. So much for the foresight of ACC. So this disruption, the bus lanes and LEZ will take its toll on business.

[@scottg2754]

I'm a bit concerned about how this is all going to play out. The lower footfall rates have definitely not been good

[@baphomet66and6]

@@scottg2754 Union St and the other streets were the traditional shopping thoroughfares. But like it or not folk prefer a range of shops et al in these centres. In the toon centre or the outskirts.. That's modernity for you. Not to mention the Internet. It's a hard one. To try to please everyone. You can't force businesses to take up the shops on the street, unless ye offer rates relief. There are some well known shops that love that, exploit it fully and move on. I'm happy to trek up and down Union Street myself, the few times I now go to the 'deen. Can't say I'm a shopping centre fan. I rarely dally in Union Square. Less it's passing through, bus to train station.

[@scottg2754]

@@baphomet66and6 I don't spend a lot of time in Union Square either. I do find myself on Union Street almost every day. You're also right about the expense of rental rates on Union Street itself. The higher they are, the harder it is for a business to manage. The vacant shop fronts tell the real tale. Whether it's towards Castle Gate or Holburn, there are a large number of empty shops.

[@baphomet66and6]

@@scottg2754 those who slag off Union Street are the same ones happy to shop in the likes of Union Square et al. Crossing Union Street now is so easy. Well till the disruption really starts. Folk are never happy. But then I don't really see the point in shopping say further afield. I make do locally or the deen and.... Online.

[@scottg2754]

@@baphomet66and6 being in Aberdeen I shop locally here and almost never buy online. I may be a rare person, in the sense that I like Union Street and the surrounding streets.

[@kenbremner5019]

Thanks Scott, look forward to updates of the slow progress. Cheers

[@scottg2754]

I'm sure there will be some. Trying to get out and explore more, especially as weather hopefully improves.

[@Southwinds7736]

I lived there between 1993-2001 give or take a year away overseas. There were loads of us kiwis and aussies working offshore there.

[@scottg2754]

Given what I know now about that time, the number of offshore workers would have been quite high. It was a good place to work and be, by all accounts I've heard. Know people who worked deep sea and called Aberdeen home

[@bettyrobb8219]

I am an old Aberdonian in Canada, I still love to see my old toon! Union Street is memorable. In 1950 we used to walk the ‘ Mat’ does anyone remember that? It was to meet a ‘Lad’ or ‘Lassie’ Or a Loon, and Quine!!🤣I lived in Kirkhill, also Bedford Ave during the war! Cheers to all, and my old hometown!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇦👍🏻🙋‍♀️

[@scottg2754]

I have read many accounts of what a weekend on Union Street was like...they are similar to other places in action and reason. Seems a really common occurrence, especially when people didn't go far afield.

[@bettyrobb8219]

@@scottg2754 It was a time for young people to meet and get to know each other!🙋‍♀️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇦👍🏻

[@scottg2754]

@@bettyrobb8219 that's the nicest way to describe it.

[@bettyrobb8219]

@@scottg2754 Thank you! It was happy teen days!👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇦

[@scottg2754]

@@bettyrobb8219 glad to bring back some fond memories

[@suzycat2026]

I so appreciate all your videos showing Aberdeen & all the changes going on.🙏🏻 This will all be history one day. For me, it's like watching the last good days of Aberdeen dying in slow mo. Once a beautiful, busy City with well planned traffic converging straight down unique Union Street, thru Castle Gate & on to the beach boulevard. Cutting off George Street to block it with 2 shopping centres was a bad idea, you would think ACC would learn. Seems those shopping centres are in decline now, yet they want to build more.. This new market isn't even needed & why close Union Street to make a fancy frontage for a building that doesn't even exist yet. City can't afford it. ~ Does closed for 18months mean that traffic will be allowed down the length of Union Street once again, I doubt it. Makes me sad to see the mess & chaos caused, £money wasted on schemes then forgotten. Now with excuse of 'clean air' they making greedy £penalty fines for unnecessary bus gates >putting off locals & people visiting again. The air quality in Aberdeen has never been so fresh! We are on the coast of N/E Scotland 🌊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 > Check air quality again , since ACC allowed massive incinerator to be built in Tullos ( the smell is disgusting at times ). Apologies for a rainy day moan 🤗 I wish I could be optimistic about these changes, guess I've already seen enough.

[@scottg2754]

@@suzycat2026 I am at a point where I don't know how to view what is going to happen. I want to be optimistic, but that is more of a want that a certainty. I'm hopeful, but it may be wishful thinking on my part. I'm taking this as a slice of history as well as a slice of life when I shoot. That's also why I shoot the way I do. Wanting people to see what I see and not necessarily with any judgement. No judgement is tough when it is hard to understand the why's and whats of what is being done. I'm glad you're able to enjoy what I'm shooting and your comments help me focus a little bit and perhaps try to show a bit more or choose a slightly different angle or speed with the pace.

[@suzycat2026]

I appreciate exactly what you saying @@scottg2754 I want to be more optimistic too. Maybe it's the magnetic excursion, maybe it's the Solar maximum. Maybe it's just an age thing. Apologies for writing too much. You are doing good work, you are so appreciated.🙂

[@suzycat2026]

You are very much appreciated @@scottg2754 You do remain detached & that's good for the viewers. Thanks for always responding. 🥰

[@scottg2754]

@@suzycat2026 being a very small channel makes it easy to reply to comments, but thank you for your appreciation. Staying detached is actually quite easy as I take the documentary approach to everything and it follows what I was taught a very long time ago about film-making when I was a student. Somehow, those lessons must have stuck...and I am grateful for that.

[@suzycat2026]

Photography is my favourite hobby @@scottg2754 Somehow never got into video making. You do encourage me to consider sharing some phone videos here. 🙂

[@sharonsun7919]

love the vid! I am Fan No.1😄

[@scottg2754]

Glad you're a fan...

[@murtadhamaythamalbahadily7973]

What a luck, it will be closed for the entire period of my study .

[@scottg2754]

The street is open to pedestrian traffic. Only that one section is closed to traffic, which is mostly bus traffic. Businesses are still open too.

[@murtadhamaythamalbahadily7973]

@@scottg2754 oh that's great, thanks.

[@murtadhamaythamalbahadily7973]

@@scottg2754 that's great news, thanks.

[@liketheroman]

This is an aside, but is yours a native Scottish accent? It’s wonderful, it just sounds quite singsong compared to other Scots I’ve met or heard.

[@scottg2754]

Born in Scotland, raised in Canada and have a background in radio and television (on air and technical)...also spent 14 years teaching in China. I suppose it is a blend of Scots and from western Canada. Thank you very much.

[@liketheroman]

@@scottg2754 so mellifluous! A pleasure to listen to.

[@scottg2754]

@@liketheroman Thank you! Greatly appreciated!

[@liketheroman]

@@baphomet66and6 you’ve projected your own insecurity onto my comment. Appreciating the mellifluous quality of one accent does not imply disdain for other accents which may not have a similar cadence.

[@baphomet66and6]

@@liketheroman I'm not insecure about my accent. Maybe you need to explore a wider range of Scottish accents for your ear.

[@NicholasEV1986]

Hopefully, it's all worth it when everything is finished.

[@scottg2754]

That's what I'm hoping for too

[@NicholasEV1986]

@scottg2754 it can only get better from here I think.

[@spicethecat6207]

Why is the info number for this development a number in Oldmeldrum about 18 miles from Aberdeen?

[@scottg2754]

Probably run from there. I've seen companies providing services here from Ellon, Stonehaven, Oldmeldrum and other places. Services contracted by tender. Lowest price wins.

[@paulmorgan6269]

How to kill a City.

[@scottg2754]

@@paulmorgan6269 I think they've gone about it the wrong way. The idea of doing something to stimulate growth or make necessary changes is good, but I think they've missed the boat in how best to do it.

[@TravelAbventuresUnbound]

18 months to fix pot holes.

[@scottg2754]

Not just a "here" problem. I used to see that in Canada too

[@TravelAbventuresUnbound]

@@scottg2754 I have lived in Tokyo for 15 years and yet to see a pothole. Japan maintains their roads better than other places.

[@scottg2754]

@@TravelAbventuresUnbound totally understand that. I spent 14 years in China and it was the same. I've also been to Japan a couple of times and noticed the same attention to detail and problems.

[@7kingkev]

It’s a dump anyways

[@scottg2754]

It's not ideal, but I've traveled and seen much worse. At least there's an attempt for improvement being made.