MORE people will have to ditch their cars in favour of public transport due to the massive scale of growth in Aberdeen, the city’s council leader has warned.
Barney Crockett said a balance will have to be struck in future years due to “inescapable” pressure on local roads, despite an unusual level of prosperity meaning many people “have nice cars and want to use them”.
Last night, the AA challenged city planners to provide an incentive for drivers to leave their vehicles at home – and pointed out many bus routes don’t take people where they need to go.
Tens of thousands of houses will be built in Aberdeen over the next decade, while new industrial developments are also springing up.
Mr Crockett said the local authority has committed more than £300million in capital investment for the next five years, and is fast becoming a European leader in new hydrogen bus technology.
The city bypass is due to be completed in 2018, while a new River Don crossing, improvements for the Berryden and South College Street areas and a link road to the airport at Dyce will also be constructed.
However, the Labour group chief said the pace of growth means that an improved public transport system will be a necessity.
A leading council official also hailed the example of Copenhagen, where many commuters use bicycles because it is the quickest way to get around the city.
Mr Crockett said: “There will be a shift in the relationship with the car, because this is going to be one of the most intense business cities in the world.
“If you look at cities of that kind, then obviously public transport takes on a bigger and bigger role.
“We have an unusual aspect of our city, in how prosperous many people are, so obviously they have nice cars and want to use them, so we will have that balance to make.
“But the key to the future is the ability to attract the most mobile, highly educated specialists and, disproportionately, people will be interested in public transport and in alternative transport and alternative energies.
“Public transport will be made more efficient, but also you are going to have the pressure on the roads, which will be inescapable.”
The city council has already invested in a fleet of hydrogen buses, the first of which will take to the streets in April next year.
Council officials are also exploring options for some type of “mass transit” system.
Enterprise, planning and infrastructure director Gordon McIntosh said that does not necessarily mean that trams will return to Union Street, however.
“What we’d like to see is that the new transport systems that are put in place are in association with new developments and new communities.”
Mr McIntosh said the former mayor of Copenhagen was asked about the secret behind the city’s reputation for green travel.
The Dane revealed locals did not use bikes for environmental reasons, but because “it is the quickest way to get from A to B”.
Mr McIntosh added: “Because of the congestion there was in Copenhagen, and the fact they protected the architecture and the street design, people used bicycles to get around the central parts.
“We need that type of modal shift, and anything we do would be looking at European cities, which have cycle lanes and walking lanes alongside any of the interventions they have in terms of light rail or whatever else.”
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