Councillors will be asked to back plans to make one of the most notorious roads in Aberdeenshire “fit for purpose” tomorrow.
Members of the local authority’s Garioch area committee will debate route improvement strategy suggestions for the A947 Aberdeen to Banff road at a meeting in Inverurie’s Gordon House.
The strategy was unveiled by the local authority earlier this month and will be discussed, in advance of a final decision on the best option, or options, to take forward.
Councillors are being asked to back a wider consultation and also to support proposals to make the route safer at Whiterashes by reducing the speed limit through the community from 50mph to 40mph.
A list of 20 A947 improvement options will go before members tomorrow, including suggestions to dual the route and to install average speed cameras or bypasses along its length.
The 41-mile road, which is often winding and has a number of blind spots, has been the scene of nine fatalities and 40 serious injuries in the last five years.
The council’s head of infrastructure services, Stephen Archer, said the finished strategy would “require significant capital funding”.
He added that, following tomorrow’s meeting, member’s comments will be passed onto the council’s infrastructure services committee.
They will then decide on an agreed strategy and a shorter-term action plan to take forward for the A947.
Mr Archer said: “The key aims and objectives of the strategy are to develop a route which is fit for the purpose of connecting the communities along the route in a safe, effective, and sustainable manner while fully supporting the regeneration activity in north Aberdeenshire.
“With this at the heart of the strategy, it should be possible to develop interventions that can aid the removal of driver frustration whilst also improving journeys both in terms of overall time and variability.
“These outcomes should also support the continued accident reduction objectives.”
He added Police Scotland had backed plans to reduce the A947 speed limit to 40mph through Whiterashes, with a public consultation on the proposals scheduled from April 1 to 29.
If the scheme is supported by the community, the change could be in place by the summer.
Vice-chairman of the Garioch area committee, Martin Ford, said: “There is a long standing concern about the speed of traffic through Whiterashes, which I share.
“Walking along the pavement in Whiterashes right next to vehicles travelling at 50 mph can be unpleasant and intimidating.”
