Will £100k find answer to Elgin's ever-increasing traffic?
£100,000 study to find Elgin alternative to failed Western Link Road
Moray Council's spending £100,000 on coming up with an alternative to the failed Western Link Road.
The proposed Elgin bypass was ditched after councillors voted to kill the development.
A new transport strategy's being drawn up to decide on a new project which could allow Moray to cope with the rising road pressures, caused by congestion.
Transportation manager Nicola Moss said in a report to a meeting of the full council: "Without a clear plan for delivering transport infrastructure in a strategic manner, there is a risk that Elgin’s roads network will not develop in a way that can meet the increasing demand from population and employment growth.
"The western link road had previously been viewed as a strategic project of the council and work must now be done as a priority to identify alternative options to address transportation issues in Elgin."
A traffic management study carried out 10-years-ago identified a west-south distributor road as the best way of improving transport connectivity in Elgin, but that option had now been discounted and would not form any part of the review.
Councillors were told that a strategy of this scale would normally take six months to a year and cost around £250,000, but the transport model for the western link road could be used as a baseline to help reduce costs.
Views from the public will be sought through a variety of ways, including a wide-ranging survey as well as public exhibitions and displays.
Urging the public to participate, Mrs Moss said: "The views and experiences of everyone who uses Elgin’s roads network are vital to make sure the work we are doing represents people’s everyday needs and aspirations."