North-east residents, commuters and businesses will get the chance to let their views known about how to improve the 50 mile stretch of road from Peterhead to Aberdeen.
Nestrans, along with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council will hold a series of four public consultation events around the study area which incororates the Energetica corridor.
Earlier this month, the three consultant companies undertaking the study, SIAS, Peter Brett Associates and Energised Environments, produced a pre-appraisal report that identified seven options which could address the current travel problems between Aberdeen and Peterhead.
The seven options cover a mixture of road upgrades, bus travel improvements and rail options – including dualling the A90 north of Ellon and the potential re-opening of the former Formartine and Buchan railway line.
Nestrans Deputy Chair, Councillor Peter Argyle, said: “From Dyce and Bridge of Don to Ellon, Fraserburgh and Peterhead; the transport issues identified on this corridor affect multiple people, business and industries and we want to gain as much feedback as possible which the consultants can use as part of their further analysis on the options identified.
“These stakeholder events will be held to ensure that all interested parties have an opportunity to share their opinions. I would encourage as many people as possible to come along to the event to feed in to the process and help form the final options.
“It is important that the consultants are provided with the evidence to enable them to assess options against the issues and objectives – we are not asking for a preference or inviting a vote on the popularity of different options. Proposals will need to be realistic in terms of timescales bearing in mind the funding, planning and design stages which will need to be followed. This stage is about gathering the evidence to enable a robust assessment of the pros and cons of each option.”
The events will be held:
Monday 26th October 2015 – Holiday Inn Express, Parkway East, Bridge of Don
Tuesday 27th October 2015 – New Inn, 14 Market Street, Ellon
Monday 2nd November 2015 – Community & Sports Centre, Maconochie Place, Fraserburgh
Tuesday 3rd November 2015 – Apex Church Hall, 22 Broad Street, Peterhead