Locals have expressed their fury at a series of ‘dangerous’ pro-cycling measures which have caused confusion on their roads.
Ambiguous bike signs have started randomly appearing along narrow one-way streets in Bournemouth, often accompanied by arrows facing against the flow of traffic leaving motorists and cyclists alike unsure as to which direction they can travel in.
And the ‘active travel’ initiatives, part of a wider Government project, come despite the local authority being £251million in debt.
The latest signs have popped up on a loop of small one-way streets leading to Ashley Road – a main road opposite a large school and AFC Bournemouth’s football ground.
Since the 1970s, this stretch, which incorporates South Road, half of Boscombe Grove Road and a small section of Curzon Road, has only allowed traffic in one direction thanks to it being extremely narrow and often having a full row of parked cars on one side.
A new bike sign pictured pointing in the opposite direction to a one-way traffic on a residential road in Bournemouth
Ambiguous bike signs have started randomly appearing along narrow one-way streets in Bournemouth, often accompanied by arrows facing against the flow of traffic leaving motorists and cyclists alike unsure as to which direction they can travel in
The one way loop of South Road, a portion of Curzon Road, and half of Boscombe Grove Road (pictured) is opposite King’s Park Academy, described as one of the busiest schools in the area by Mayor Anne Filer, as well as Bournemouth’s home ground, the Vitality Stadium
Now the new bike symbols are causing chaos in the residential area with unsuspecting motorists shocked to see cyclists heading at them from the other direction.
Likewise cyclists, many of whom are not local and are travelling along the recently introduced conurbation-wide cycle route, expect the roads to be for bikes only.
Angry locals have branded the signs, which appeared in February, ‘madness’ and ‘against common sense’.
Mark Elkins, who lives in South Road, told MailOnline: ‘Everyone I’ve spoken to about it says it’s waiting for quite a bad accident to happen.
‘It’s a bit unclear to the uninitiated. A sign points one way for motorists and a sign points in the other way for cyclists – it’s rather ambiguous.
‘If you don’t know that area, you would look at those signs going the wrong way and think the flow of the traffic was in that direction. So you might actually be quite surprised when vehicles are coming at you in the opposite direction.’
Mick, who has lived on South Road for 15 years, said: ‘People come round the wrong way anyway in cars. Now sending the cycle lane into the oncoming traffic is crazy – it’s a narrow road and a very busy road with a lot of deliveries.
‘It’s dangerous – there’s children and quite a few elderly people living here.
Mark Elkins (pictured), who lives in South Road, told MailOnline: ‘Everyone I’ve spoken to about it says it’s waiting for quite a bad accident to happen’
Conservative mayor Anne Filer (pictured) said she did ‘not understand what is going on and why’
New bike signs and new bollards pictured on an island which divides Boscombe Grove Road
‘We’re going to see the full effect of it now after the school holidays.
‘Somebody’s going to get hurt in the next few months.’
Conservative mayor Anne Filer said she did ‘not understand what is going on and why’.
She told MailOnline: ‘These are very little roads and it’s almost impossible to squeeze past in another car.
‘It’s just madness for cars to be confronted by a bike coming at them.
‘Are they going to wait for an accident to happen before common sense prevails?’
Mick said that he had already had standoffs with cyclists since the signs appeared.
‘Last week I was pulling out slowly and a cyclist wouldn’t stop, he tried to go on the pavement, and he ended up falling off his bike,’ he said.
‘He thought he had the right of way.
‘You also have to put your wing mirrors in now as they could be taken off as well.’
Mr Elkins, who is the coordinator of Eastcliff and Springbourne Residents Group, said that, even before the scheme was introduced, he had bumped into cyclists riding against the flow of traffic.
Mick said that he had already had standoffs with cyclists since the signs appeared
Mr Elkins, who is the coordinator of Eastcliff and Springbourne Residents Group, said that, even before the scheme was introduced, he had bumped into cyclists riding against the flow of traffic
The affected roads are made more dangerous by the fact they lie opposite ‘one of the biggest’ schools in the area and a few hundred yards away from Bournemouth’s home ground The Vitality Stadium
‘About two months ago, someone came down on a barrel bike the wrong way and wouldn’t stop and rode into the front of one of my vehicles,’ he said. ‘That kind of shows what happens.
‘It’s potentially [chaos] and if you’ve got an aggressive cyclist with very strong views they may be tempted to hammer down that road in the opposite direction.
‘An awful lot of cyclists dress in black at night time with no lights in that area and that increases the risk further.’
Mick added: ‘Kids come down on electric bikes and they’re not going slow let’s put it that way.’
The affected roads are made more dangerous by the fact they lie opposite ‘one of the biggest’ schools in the area and a few hundred yards away from Bournemouth’s home ground The Vitality Stadium.
Mr Elkins said: ‘In the morning and afternoon, when they’re picking kids up in school, that can become quite congested so it’s even more fun isn’t it if you’ve got cyclists going up and down at that time.’
Ms Filer added: ‘You could have a situation where you’ve got a car going correctly in the right direction, a bike coming in the other direction, and children wanting to cross that road. It’s just wrong.
‘A couple of ten-year-olds chatting to one another could be in danger – they’ll look in the direction they know it’s always been safe and suddenly cyclists go by fast.
‘It might be that the road is so narrow that when a car does come down, going in the same direction as you, you’re going to have to veer off and go onto the pavement, where possibly there’s a child walking home from school.
‘It’s also right opposite the football stadium. Football fans use these roads for parking and the roads can get busy with hundreds of people walking up and down on a matchday.’
The initiative is part of a Transforming Cities Fund, a £2.45billion government fund which aims to encourage ‘low-carbon and sustainable modes of transport’.
Mr Elkins, who cycles several times a week in the area, said he had managed to help block the scheme when a previous Conservative administration announced it in December 2022.
The local realised the new three-town alliance administration of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole had pushed through the project when he received a letter in February 2024 saying it was being implemented in around a week’s time.
When he complained to Poole councillor and portfolio holder Andy Hadley, who has been approached by MailOnline for comment, he was told there had been a full consultation in 2021.
Mr Elkins said: ‘[The pro-cycling] is not necessarily from local people but without a doubt [there’ll be more signs popping up].’
He added that the scheme was ‘squandering taxpayers’ money’ and said the council had ‘spent ages’ removing a set of bollards, which divide Boscombe Grove Road in two, and replacing them with new ones.
Ms Filer stressed that her concerns were ‘not a political point at all’ but that the new signs were against ‘common sense’.
She said: ‘It’s nothing to do with the principle of having roads which are good for cyclists.
‘We needed a cross route where families, children and other people could safely cycle but this is a little bit added on which is against any modicum of common sense.
‘I haven’t seen, and I don’t know of, any consultation about that bit [the new bike signs]. There was consultation about putting in the cross-town cycling route.
‘I would like them to retract that bit.
‘I’m upset for the people who live there and I’m equally upset for the people who might get hurt.
‘If everybody thinks it’s a bad idea why can’t they be listened to?
‘We’re not children. We don’t live in a nanny state where everything’s done to us.’
New bike signs pictured on a residential road in Bournemouth
The cash-strapped Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council covered the middle of the road with the white symbols, which have baffled motorists who have seemingly now lost priority to cyclists
Mick added: ‘I don’t blame people for being more green but they’d be better fixing the potholes on these roads.’
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has been contacted for comment.
The bike signs come amid a string of pro-cycling measures introduced in the area.
Last month the council covered the middle of Windham Road, one street along from the one-way loop affected by the newest symbols, with similar white signs which baffled motorists.
One resident on Windham Road, where the symbols suddenly appeared, said: ‘There are no cycle lanes on this road.
‘These signs are very confusing and all they are going to do is bring conflict between motorists and cyclists.
‘They look like they are telling road users that this road is a cycle route and cyclists have priority.
‘It also looks like they are encouraging cyclists to use the whole road.’
A pothole pictured unfixed in the nearby area
Signs at the end of the road showing a new conurbation-wide cycling route
Officials defended the signs on Windham Road, claiming that the markings were a ‘safety feature that act as a visual reminder to drivers that cyclists may be using this road’.
A spokesperson added: ‘The work cost between £1,000 and £1,500 with money provided from a central government fund specifically ringfenced for active travel facilities.
‘White cycle markings are in use on other roads in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area and will continue to be considered as a safety feature where appropriate.’
