Aberdeen City Council have launched a public consultation into options for improving active travel and public transport from the P&R in Ellon to the Garthdee Road corridor.

The consultation is part of the Ellon P&R – Garthdee Transport Corridor study which has a particular focus on active travel and public transport connections and is taking a holistic approach by examining both northbound and southbound movements on the corridor to identify interventions with demonstrable benefits.

The study will recognise development aspirations and pressures in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and will capitalise on several pieces of work undertaken by the City Council and partners in this area in recent years. This will provide the City Council with the ability to apply the outcomes of the study to outline business case development for deliverable options, for potential progression to design and implementation in the future.

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The Preliminary Appraisal stage of the study is progressing and will consider the performance of options against transport planning objectives and the STAG criteria of environment, safety, economy, integration, accessibility and social inclusion, with additional consideration of option feasibility, affordability and public acceptability.

This follows the Initial Appraisal stage of the study which identified the key problems, issues, constraints and opportunities relating to transport on the Ellon P&R-Garthdee corridor.

Aberdeen City Council transport spokesperson Councillor Sandra Macdonald said: "This study is a significant piece of work not only for Aberdeen but for the wider region as it is important to understand how people and goods move around in and around this corridor for business and leisure purposes, particularly taking into consideration transport needs post-Covid.

"The information gathered will be used alongside information already gathered to shape the next stage."

Throughout the study, cognisance is being taken of the revised Roads Hierarchy for Aberdeen, which was agreed by Aberdeen City Council in 2019. Consideration will be given to options for better aligning the study corridor with its role in the revised hierarchy. In taking forward the above tasks, the project team, with support from the City Council, and key study partners Aberdeenshire Council and Nestrans, will work closely with the North East Bus Alliance to determine public transport opportunities on the study corridor – the Alliance identifies the Ellon P&R to Garthdee corridor as a priority corridor for improvement.

Aberdeen City Council has commissioned consultants AECOM to develop the STAG-based appraisal of options for the study.