Plans have been unveiled for a £13million park-and-ride site near Aberdeen Airport to ease congestion for visitors and thousands of commuters who travel into the city every day.
Aberdeen City Council has indicated it is close to submitting a planning application for the site near Dyce, which will include 1,000 parking spaces.
North-east business leaders last night welcomed the move, which comes a week after the local authority revealed new plans for a third bridge crossing of the River Don.
A public consultation is to be held next week to discuss the proposed park-and-ride development on farmland south of the Argyll Road and Dyce Drive junction.
The scheme would include a new dual carriageway road between the junctions of Argyll Road, Dyce Drive and the A96 Inverness to Aberdeen road, where it would also link to the city’s long-awaited western bypass when it has been completed.
If planning permission is granted, work would begin on the park-and-ride facility in 2012, with completion pencilled-in for the following year.
Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Bob Collier said the scheme could link with the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR).
“In order to fully maximise the benefits of the AWPR, we must be considering how it will fit into the wider transport infrastructure of the north-east,” he said.
“Congestion around Dyce, particularly as it affects access to the airport, is a major problem for the business community and we welcome sensible schemes which will help address that.”
Dyce Transportation Management Organisation estimates that there are 17,000 commuters travelling through the area every day.
Aberdeenshire councillor Bryan Stuart, who represents the Inverurie district, said: “There is a high proportion of residents in Inverurie who are commuters, so anything that makes their life easier has got to be welcome.”
A public consultation is to be held at the Carnegie Hall, Skene Place, Dyce, from 11am until 8pm, on February 19.
Dyce and Stoneywood Community Council chairwoman Vera Paxton said she had not been aware the plans were so far advanced.
“Of course we want something done about the congestion – it’s getting worse by the day,” she said.
“Dyce is very often gridlocked but whether they would use the park and ride, I don’t know.”