A councillor fears a fishing port could become the forgotten corner of the north-east if its is not included in the campaign to dual a vital road.
Ian Tait wants the busy A90 upgraded all the way to Fraserburgh – and has urged people in the town to make their voices heard on the issue.
Earlier this month Conservative MEP Ian Duncan laid out the business case for dualling a 14-mile stretch of the route between Ellon and Peterhead.
Thousands of cars, vans and HGVs travel the single carriageway road every day and campaigners fear that unless action is taken the region’s economy could be left crippled.
As part of the “Why Stop at Ellon?” drive, Mr Duncan has urged the Scottish Government to take advantage of a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan to fund what would be a huge infrastructure project.
It is estimated that the cost of upgrading each mile of the route would be about £10million.
But Councillor Tait wants people in Fraserburgh to ask “Why Stop At Peterhead?” – and fight to have the A90 dualled between the neighbouring towns.
Last night, he said as many people as possible should feed into an ongoing study examining ways to improve links between Aberdeen and the north-east’s larger communities.
Consultation ends in December, and other options being looked at by regional transport body Nestrans include the reintroduction of a railway line between the city, Peterhead and Fraserburgh.
Mr Tait said: “Fraserburgh’s community needs to make its voice heard loud and strong.
“Anyone who has not done so should not hold back.
“We need all the support we can from people in all political parties and from those who do not belong to any party if we are going to get this road dualled.”
The Independent Fraserburgh councillor added: “It will be a significant factor in regenerating the Fraserburgh economy.
“Dualling the A90 will be critical in making transport into and out of the area as efficient as possible.”
Mr Tait’s plea to the Scottish Government to have Fraserburgh made an enterprise zone in the wake of the loss of hundreds of jobs at the Young’s Seafood plant in the town has already been rejected by the Scottish Government.
Earlier this year, Transport Scotland released figures showing that every day 13,000 vehicles travel on the three-mile stretch of the A90 from Ellon to Toll of Birness.
Some then branch off on to the A952 heading for Mintlaw and Fraserburgh, but 8,000-9,000 vehicles head to Peterhead.
A spokesman for Transport Scotland said the current priority was completing the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project, which includes upgrading the Balmedie-Tipperty stretch of the A90 to make it dual carriageway all the way from Aberdeen to Ellon.