Teachers praise new cycle lane bridges in Bournemouth

Two bridges along Glenferness Avenue, over the railway lines, were installed last October as part of the council’s active travel work. 

As well as cycle approach lanes from the road to the bridges, the area also has a new toucan crossing and several junction improvements. 

However, this isn’t the end of active travel work along Glenferness Avenue, with more disruption expected with closures lasting until July. It’s not yet clear when these closures will happen. 

Andrew Bright, headteacher of St Mark’s Primary School, said: “The introduction of the new toucan crossing and bridges will improve the safety of our students and their families, and we are hoping to see a difference in the number of people deciding to actively travel to school on foot, by scooting or by bicycle. 

“The improvements will benefit everybody, and we hope to see traffic positively impacted on local roads. 

Read more: Four months of disruption in Bournemouth for new cycle lane

“We welcome improvements which allow families to travel to and from school in an active and sustainable way, allowing students to arrive at school fresh and ready to learn.” 

Talbot Primary School headteacher Kate Curtis added: “With the addition of the new toucan crossing and bridges, our students now have safer routes to school, encouraging more families to embrace walking, cycling and scooting as viable transportation choices.” 

Lauren Cannings, travel and transport manager at Bournemouth University, said: “Glenferness Avenue has always been a busy commuting route for staff and students travelling to the university's Talbot campus. 

“The previous bridge only had a single footpath for pedestrians and the narrow road lanes made it dangerous for cyclists to share the space. 

“The new layout provides several improvements, including a new toucan crossing for safer movements, two bridges either side of the road which are wide enough for both pedestrians and cyclists to share, and dedicated cycle lanes on the approach so riders can safely join the traffic after crossing. 

“A number of staff and students have already stopped me to comment on how the works have hugely improved their commute, especially our cycling and walking community who now feel safer travelling along Glenferness Road on their way to and from the campus." 

Bournemouth Uni student Emilia Tomlinson said: “As a student commuting daily to Bournemouth University, the new bridges and crossing have drastically improved how safe I feel cycling to uni.  

“I’ve had some near misses with traffic when using the narrow road bridge in the past, but now I’m completely separate from the cars and as a result, I’ve found I’m cycling more than ever.” 

More work is underway in Glenferness Avenue and soon there will be stepped cycle lanes between Talbot roundabout and Alford Road, new parallel crossings and resurfacing work. 

The Echo has asked BCP Council how much the two new bridges cost.