11 August 2011
Aberdeen western bypass announcement
In response to today's (Thursday 11) Court of Session decision to reject the legal challenge to the proposed Aberdeen western bypass, Colin Howden, Director of Transform Scotland, said: [1]
"A western bypass would do nothing to address the key traffic congestion issue in Aberdeen. Everyone knows that the real problem is car commuting into the city, especially during the morning rush hour -- something that an orbital road will do nothing to address. The best way that this could be tackled would be to deliver commuter rail routes into the city. It is unfortunate that the Scottish Government seem unwilling to invest in public transport, and instead continues to subsidise car use. The only thing that this project will deliver is car-dependent commuter sprawl and out-of-town retail tin-sheds.
"What we still don't know is how much the project will cost. No-one believes that the £395m price-tag, a figure which dates from 2005, is a realistic estimate for this project.
"Given the cuts to public sector jobs and services carried out in the North East over recent years, it will be interesting to see which further local cuts will be required so that Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils can meet their financial commitments towards the already excessive cost of this project."
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] Transform Scotland is the national sustainable transport alliance, bringing together rail, bus and shipping operators, local authorities, national environment and conservation groups, businesses and local transport groups - see <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/members.aspx> for details.
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