The debate over multi-million-pound plans to overhaul the north-east’s most notorious road will continue this week as councillors meet on the route.
There have been nine deaths on the A947 Aberdeen to Banff road in the past five years. A further 40 people have been seriously injured.
With the rate of fatal or serious incidents 60% higher than the Scottish average, council chiefs have ordered a comprehensive study into how the 41-mile carriageway can be improved.
A new route improvement strategy, which includes proposals to dual sections of the road which links Aberdeen to the Moray Firth coast, has been released to the public and councillors will meet in Banff tomorrow to discuss the findings.
Last night, councillor Mark Findlater, a member of the Banff and District safety group, said: “The report really confirms what I’ve said before about the A947 – that it’s not just the road but the way people drive. We need more education.”
Mr Findlater added the safety group is offering to part-fund advanced driver courses, designed “to make people better and more considerate drivers”.
Local area committee chairman John Cox welcomed the action plan.
He said: “The report is comprehensive and it covers many aspects. It has been taken from consultation with businesses, farmers, the public and councillors.
“It’s a starting point and recognition that work has to be done.”
Mr Cox’s comments echo what Aberdeenshire Council’s transport strategy chief Mark Skilling told members of the Formartine area committee last week.
He said that, although some of the costs laid out in the report were “eye-watering”, including a £500million proposal to dual the whole route, the plan was a “starting point”.