A CYCLING campaigner has welcomed Bournemouth’s first parallel crossing, which gives cyclists and pedestrians equal priority when crossing the road.

First introduced in London, the tiger crossing has now been brought to Bournemouth, with plans to create another one in the town next month.

The crossing, which comprises a standard zebra crossing with a separate parallel strip for cyclists, has been installed in Poole Lane, near LeAF academy.

Linking a well-used footway and cycle path, it also features ramps to force traffic to slow down around the area.

Jason Falconer, a cycling coach who blogs about cycling issues, said the parallel crossing would help children who walk and cycle to school to cross the road safely.

“The council is following London’s lead by introducing these parallel crossings,” he said.

“I’d like to see more introduced across the Poole and Bournemouth area as on more and more occasions making a crossing is hard work on a bike due to the level of traffic, especially if you’re not a confident rider.”

Work on the parallel crossing started at the end of March and took around 10 weeks to complete.

Richard Pearson, road safety manager, said the scheme was part of the borough’s efforts to promote walking and cycling in Bournemouth.

“So far local reaction to the new style of crossing is very positive. It will give more priority to both pedestrians and cyclists on this busy road, and hopefully will enhance the current footway and cycle route to make it a more attractive route. We also hope that this crossing will reduce the traffic speed in this section of Poole Lane.”

He added the council had plans to introduce a second tiger crossing near St Peter’s School in Belle Vue Road in July.

“We hope these crossings will help make our roads safer and more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists, and we will monitor the performance of these new crossings and consider introducing more where appropriate.”