Nearly £10million could be spent on roads to Aberdeen’s new south harbour – as well as a bus links for tourists coming off cruise ships to see the sights of the Granite City.
Options, bypassing contested community green space, will be put to councillors next week after a public consultation on the plans.
Work totalling £9.4m, including a new bridge over the railway line and carriageway widening on the Coast Road, has been recommended for approval.
The public preferred the Coast Road and Hareness Road option – estimated to cost £6.5m – over pricier routes, which included a new road through St Fittick’s Park in Torry and, potentially, the Tullos Hill conservation site.
Councillors have also been recommended to simply extend existing bus services to serve the new harbour, as well as any future developments in the proposed energy transition zone business park (ETZ).
But the local authority might also look to establish a new bus route, priced at £20,000 a year, directly transporting cruise tourists expected to dock at the new harbour within the city centre.
Importance has been placed on pedestrian and cycling links too, with recommendations another £1.83m is committed to building a segregated active travel path between the harbour, ETZ sites, city centre and Deeside Way.
An £860,000 tiered cycleway between the Aberdeen South development and Wellington Road is also being put forward as an option.
City growth convener and council co-leader Douglas Lumsden said: “I am sure the proposed link road to the harbour will be pleasing for a lot of the community.
“It is not going to go through St Fittick’s or Souter Head, I know there was a group with concerns there.
“I think most people will be fairly happy with the report, to be honest.
“As part of our long-term aim to diversify our economy, there has been work done to make Aberdeen a cruise destination.
“Obviously, the pandemic has knocked that down the road for a good few years but hopefully it can be picked up again in the future – it’s still a long-term aspiration to improve the destination of Aberdeen and try to get more tourists here.”
If backed, officials will build a business case for the work which would be funded by up to £25m from the Aberdeen City Region Deal.
