Council says sorry after pedestrians ‘put in danger’ on Richmond Hill

It stressed it acted quickly after complaints pedestrians were being put in danger because they were choosing to walk in the carriageway of Richmond Hill.

The problems occurred when the footpath on the east side of Richmond Hill was closed at the junction with Yelverton Road as part of the council’s improvement works.

But the signs telling people they needed to use the other footpath were sited immediately before the closure, where there is no safe crossing point, while a poorly-placed diversion sign directed people to walk round the barricades.

Video footage taken by the Echo shows that many pedestrians exiting Yelverton Road chose to take their chances in the traffic rather than walking down Richmond Hill to cross over and walk up the other side.

And many others walking down the east side of Richmond Hill chose to brave the traffic too; the video footage shows them walking on the road inches from passing cars.

Ian Kalra, head of transportation services at Bournemouth council, said: “Where works are taking place on the highway the safety of all road users is paramount.

“As part of the Three Towns Travel improvements on Richmond Hill, a small section of the pedestrian footpath was closed earlier this week to carry out necessary works.

“We are aware of some issues with the diversionary route for pedestrians and we apologise for the inconvenience caused.

“We would like to assure the public that we have taken immediate action to address this.

“A temporary pedestrian walkway has been established to ensure pedestrians are provided with a clear and safe route whilst these works are being undertaken.”