Park and ride ‘moving forward’

Plans for a park and ride service for Dundee have taken a step forward.

Efforts to introduce a facility south of the city have been taken on as part of the Tay Cities Deal.

Tactran, Tayside’s regional transport partnership, has handed over the delivery of the scheme to chiefs behind the deal – which aims to bring more than £1.8 billion of investment across Tayside and north-east Fife.

It had previously been progressed by Tactran, Fife Council, Dundee City Council, Transport Scotland and fellow transport group Sestran.

Eric Guthrie, director of Tactran, said he was optimistic the proposal to install the service on the southern side of the Tay Road Bridge was now closer to being realised.

He said: “A park and ride south of the Tay has been on the cards for some years.

“Thanks to the connectivity proposals in the deal, it’s much more likely we will see it happening in the near future.

“There are no detailed plans yet and funding has still to be discussed as does a timescale, but things are now moving forward.”

Estimated costs have ranged between £3.5 and £4 million, depending on the scale of the project.

Previous plans for a service at Riverside, close to the airport, were thrown out by councillors.

However, Mr Guthrie says that scheme could yet be resurrected.