MORE enforcement has been called for as drivers have been spotted parking in cycle lanes in Boscombe.

One Bournemouth resident has hit out at the drivers, saying 'it's an accident waiting to happen'.

Dean Hawthorne is calling for better cycling infrastructure in the area and is recording his car journeys along the road until something is done.

He said: “They're obviously not monitored at all because I drive down that road regularly and they always have people parked in them, to be fair the whole area around Boscombe doesn't seem to be monitored.

“Having cars parked in the cycle lane pushes cyclists into the main flow of traffic which is a danger because cyclists are potentially vulnerable to vehicles, there are a number of school runs in the area as well, it's an accident waiting to happen.

“There was a report recently about the air quality and Christchurch Road is particularly bad. If you want people to start cycling, you need to offer good cycling infrastructure and what they've offered isn't. It's just some lines on a road and if it's not being monitored, if one person parks there, you get 20 people parking there.

“There is a parking issue in the area because every summer we have the same issue, it's no surprise, it's just going to get worse if nothing is done about it.”

Bournemouth Echo:

He said: “I believe you need segregated cycle lanes, even if it's the bollards. All around the world there are much busier places than Bournemouth who have successfully integrated cycle lanes, so it needs to be looked at properly by people who know what they're doing.

“The cycle lanes that are there are broken up anyway, they're not continuous so it does feel a bit like a token gesture.

“A white line on the floor is not suitable really, there needs to be more and it needs to be monitored, I've never seen anyone with a ticket round there.

“I will keep filming it as long as it goes on because it's just not good enough.”

Bournemouth Echo:

Councillor for Boscombe East and Pokesdown, Andy Jones, said: “The last however many times, I've walked and driven along that particular part of the road, there's frequently cars parked in there and it’s clearly marked with ‘no waiting, no stopping’ restrictions so vehicles shouldn’t be in there for any length of time.

“Having civil enforcement officers patrol is obviously an important aspect but they can’t be there all the time.

“One of the things that I've asked our portfolio holder for transportation Mike Greene to look at is the possibility of using camera enforcement, so he's going to go away and look at that, speak to the relevant officers and come back to me.

“I believe there is legislation there to allow that enforcement but he's going to look into it and advise.

“I think we need to look at a smarter way of tackling this, we can use camera enforcement, and have tickets sent through the post that way and clearly that's going to be a far more effective way of dealing with it than what we've got at the moment.

“Residents have been contacting me about it so clearly what's happening at the moment isn't satisfactory and at the end of the day it is a cycle lane and people should be able to cycle through it without coming across parked cars.”