Motorists on one of the north-east’s most notorious roads will be asked for their views on how to improve safety this summer.
Aberdeenshire Council has been working towards a route improvement strategy for the A947 Aberdeen to Banff road for several months.
The strategy aims to develop a route that is “fit-for-purpose” to safely connect communities, reduce any potential cause for driver frustration and improve journey times.
Council officers are looking at work previously carried out on the accident blackspot, review existing problems and then compile an appraisal of future options, and will use the document as part of their business case to secure funding for the works.
Yesterday, members of the infrastructure services committee heard a series of public consultations will be held in July and August, where motorists will be asked about any particular issues on stretches of the road.
Transport strategy manager Mark Skilling outlined the timeline for the project, and said that by December or January, he hoped to be able to present the committee with a fully-costed action plan and programme of work.
However, he stressed there was no funding available for the project as yet.
“This is not the kind of project that usually attracts outside funding,” Mr Skilling said. “Funding will be a problem but we can cost things up and achieve an order of how we would like to do that work if the funding becomes available.”
But Banff councillor John Cox welcomed the work so far, and said it was important the team had as much detail as possible to make the project more attractive for prospective funding options.
“This will be well appreciated by users of the road,” he said. “The A947 has its challenges – it’s up and down, bendy and there are a number of roads that feed onto it. This has been a long time coming.
“I appreciate what you say about funding, but we’ve got to get our options drawn up. This is a milestone today.
“It will be good to engagement from the community and people using this road so we have something comprehensive and meaningful to make the case.”
Although previous consultations have been held, small numbers of people turned out.
Committee chairman Peter Argyle encouraged anyone who used the road to take the opportunity to have their say this summer to ensure the council can make a “robust business case” for improvement works.