A park-and-ride scheme for Tay Road Bridge commuters has moved a step closer.
Talks have begun between the South-East Scotland Transport partnership (SEStran) and the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board. The plan is to build a car park for 300 to 400 vehicles close to the road-bridge roundabout.
It would aim to serve Fife commuters coming to and from Dundee, allowing them to park their cars before crossing the bridge and then using public transport to complete their journey.
“The project will involve a transfer of land ownership from Tay Bridge board to SEStran and discussions over this issue have started with the Tay Bridge board,” said SEStran partnership director Alex Macauley.
He added: “Proposed development of the site is in the local plan for North East Fife and will require detailed planning consent for which SEStran has, as yet, not applied.”
A second site for around 400 parking spaces has been proposed at a site off Riverside Avenue, near the Riverside Nature Park, by regional transport partnership Tactran and the local authority.
A pre-planning application notice for this site, which would mainly serve commuters from Perth, was submitted in June. Both schemes hope to make commuting to Dundee easier and reduce traffic congestion in the city centre.
It is hoped that the park-and-ride sites will be completed by 2015, although SEStran said that no specific timeline for the stages necessary for completion has been set at present.
However, funding for the schemes has yet to be finalised.
“In order for this project to be delivered, it will need partnership funding and will probably involve SEStran working in cooperation with Tactran, Fife Council, Dundee City Council and Transport Scotland,” Mr Macauley said.
Plans for both sites have proved controversial, with some green activists, who question the environmental benefits of the schemes.