Aberdeenshire Council has reported positive feedback from more than 1,500 residents who have engaged in its Local Transport Strategy consultation.
More than 900 ‘theme’ paper downloads via the council’s innovative consultation process which asks residents to consider papers on a wide range of transport topics such as low emission vehicles, public transport and active travel.
Findings from the consultation will have a significant impact on how future development of transportation and infrastructure will be developed across Aberdeenshire.
The results of the consultation to-date suggest that almost three quarters of the people who have responded already carry out some form of active travel and 45% already use public transport.
The most popular download has been the Mobility as a Shared Service theme paper and a significant level of feedback also shows that residents are also interested in electric vehicles.
For these future developments, it’s important that they are inclusive for everyone. With that in mind the council is encouraging everyone to participate in the consultation – which has been extended to September 30 – so that their opinions can be heard.
Cllr Alan Turner, chair of the council’s Infrastructure Services Committee, explained: “It’s been encouraging to see such a high level of interest in something which traditionally could be quite dry. The conventional approach of setting up in a town hall and inviting local people to attend a presentation has often yielded disappointing results in the past, so to have such a high level of interest has been great for the team involved and of course we receive responses that are more representational of the Aberdeenshire area.”
ISC vice-chair Cllr Isobel Davidson added: “We have opted to extend the consultation period because we feel that there is further engagement to be had and we have now invited schools to participate by preparing a special schools pack where theme topics can be discussed in a classroom environment as a curriculum activity accompanied by short survey to be completed by teaching staff.”
