A City of Edinburgh Council report has outlined its position on proposals for a new Forth Crossing in advance of consideration by the Scottish Parliament of a Bill giving powers to construct a new bridge.

The report will be considered at the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Committee next Tuesday, 22nd September, and, if approved, will support continued development of the new crossing, subject to it being part of an integrated approach to managing cross-Forth travel that does not materially increase traffic pressures in Edinburgh.

It will also urge that a final decision on a commitment to construct the new crossing should be deferred until 2011/12, when better information on the condition of the existing bridge will be available.

Meanwhile, it states, a strategy based on the on the existing bridge remaining as the sole crossing should be developed.

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Cllr Gordon Mackenzie said: "In principal, I am not against Transport Scotland's proposed bill and accept the need for a fully functional Forth crossing. However, it is clear that we do not have to award a contract for two years or more. During that period, we need to progress the design and procurement process for a new bridge but, in parallel, put in place the associated transport strategy that will be required to make the new bridge work better than the current one.

"We must also use this time to develop alternative methods of maintaining the existing bridge so that if, as we all hope, the dehumidification work is successful, and shows that the bridge has a significantly longer lifespan, we can deploy the £2bn earmarked for the new crossing into other vital public transport projects around the country."

The report goes on to state that, if the new crossing does proceed, it should be delivered as part of a truly Managed Crossing Strategy, with a full range of measures to encourage use of public transport and car-share, rather than a stand-alone infrastructure project.

Cllr Mackenzie added: "We will be urging the Scottish Parliament to explore both the public transport strategy and the maintenance of the existing bridge as the bill progresses. This is a huge decision for our Parliament and the process must ensure that MSPs have the information, time and space to do justice to all of the issues."

(GK/BMcC)