Active travel work along B3073 praised by wheelchair user

Ian Bennett has lived in Wimborne Road West for 27 years – the last decade of which he has become an almost permanent wheelchair user.

During that time, Ian found the pavements in and around his home too dangerous for wheelchair travel due to uneven grounding – instead electing to take chances by wheeling himself on roads.

He said: “I am totally independent and like to use my chair to keep myself fit. Where many people go out for a regular walk, I go out for a regular wheel.

Ian Bennett

“I consider myself lucky that my arms are strong, it’s just my legs that don’t work very well. My wheelchair is actually my best friend and gives me so much freedom.

“I’m sure that many local Colehill and Stapehill residents have become familiar with me wheeling through their neighbourhood [and] some of them will probably wonder why I tend to wheel on the road and not the pavement. The reason for this, which any wheelchair user will attest to, is that these old pavements tend to be cambered making it almost impossible to navigate in a straight line.”

The lack of attention to this changed last year when the joint Transforming Travel venture between Dorset Council and BCP Council saw the redevelopment of Wimborne Road West and Leigh Road. Work finished in spring and welcomed a 2.3km stretch of new walking and cycle paths and crossings.

“I had little comprehension of how this would affect my daily life,” said Ian.

New parallel crossing near Hayes Lane junction in Wimbourne Road West. Picture: BCP Council

“Now the work is completed (barring one short section) on using this new footpath, I can now wheel into Wimborne in probably half the time that it used to take me simply because it’s so much easier.  Not only is the new footpath wide but it’s also flat, meaning that it’s considerably safer and I’m no longer putting 80 per cent of my effort into travelling in a straight line.”

“Safety has improved considerably as well. This was never an easy road to cross in a wheelchair with the traffic travelling at 40mph. Now the speed limit has been reduced to 30 mph, and two parallel crossings have been introduced, I have no problem whatsoever in crossing the road.”

With more work further down the route due for completion in autumn, Ian believes motorists should give ongoing active travel works more of a chance and remember how it can benefit not just them but disabled people like himself.

He added: “The construction has transformed my local wheelchair usage [and] has changed my life. Thank you to all involved.”