Plans have been unveiled for a huge shake-up of the traffic network in the Highland capital as part of a drive to secure the city’s economic future.
The council is embarking on a consultation with major business organisations on a new strategy for the way buses, trains and cars move around Inverness.
Members of the Inverness city committee will be asked next week to approve the launch of the consultation by speaking to members of Inverness Business Improvement District (Bid) and the city’s chamber of commerce.
The organisations will be asked for their views on future arrangements for Inverness and these will be used to develop an integrated plan of transport and land use. This plan would be opened up for public comment next year before its adoption by the local authority.
Having pedestrians, traffic and cyclists sharing the same space in Academy Street is one idea that the council’s planning, environment and development committee chairman, Thomas Prag, thinks could be considered.
He said: “It has been tried elsewhere and works quite well and I think it’s something that might work well in some areas of Inverness.”
Mr Prag said seeking the consultation showed the council wanted to hear from people with ideas to refresh the city’s transport plans.
City leader Ian Brown said if the proposal was approved on Monday, the council would ask business organisations for “their vision” for transport.
He said: “The city centre development plan looks at the built environment and the economy, so we need a transport plan to sit with that. We need to get the public – workers and tourists – in and out of the city as efficiently and safely as possible.
“This is purely the start of the consultation process. We would be talking to Bid and other interested parties. We will be asking for their vision.”
Major proposals in the current development brief include moving the bus station from its current site at Farraline Park to the public car park beside TK Maxx, which would be closer to the railway station.
The former bus station site could then be transformed into an attractive public square.
Other proposals include developing a park-and-ride site on the outskirts of the city and improving and linking the cycle and pedestrian networks in and around Inverness.
Bid chairman Craig Duncan said parking and ease of access for customers to reach city centre businesses must be key parts of any new strategy.
He said he would like to see traffic-calming in the city centre rather than the removal of traffic but he was sceptical of the park-and-ride plans as he thought this had not worked in other towns.
Mr Duncan said he would “very much welcome” the bus station being relocated and Farraline Park being developed as a business area.
He added: “Having an overall plan is a great idea. We’re pleased to be in at the ground level on this. Bid should be involved in something as vital as this as the city is going to grow.”
Inverness Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stewart Nicol said the issue of welcoming tourist coaches into the city needed to be addressed and added that a park-and-ride option for the city would be worthy of “serious consideration”.
He said: “We would look forward to being engaged by the council on this. The city has got its challenges but we’ve got enough strategic thinkers and good ideas to make sure this is a really good opportunity to address all the city’s needs. He added: “It’s not just about Inverness – it’s about the broader context of the city and the wider region economically.”
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