I’M WRITING to ask (beg) BCP Council to seriously consider extending the summer ban on the use of bicycles and e-scooters from the promenade between Bournemouth Pier and Sandbanks from April to September, during the hours of 10am and 6pm.

The road between Bournemouth and Boscombe piers is wide enough to accommodate pedestrians, cycles and scooters as there is room for a dedicated cycle path and the beach huts are set well back from the pedestrian area and cycle path.

However, between Bournemouth pier and Sandbanks there is no road and the promenade is totally unfit for any other traffic except pedestrians and beachgoers.

From Easter through to September the beach huts will all be in use, with families amongst the main users.

The promenade is approximately four to five metres wide at the widest part and, with the expected (and very welcome) increase in holidaymakers to the BCP beach area this summer, will be frequently congested and dangerous if speeding cycles and scooters continue to be allowed.

The restrictions in July and August are not going to be enough.

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Bournemouth has always rightly boasted of its wonderful and safe beaches but this is no longer true.

Bikes and scooters race along, often well above the 10 miles per hour speed limit, often in groups of three, four or more and their dangerous behaviour unfortunately cannot be controlled by your beach staff.

Children are running backwards and forwards, there are long queues for ice creams and takeaways at the beach cafes, runners are weaving in and out and tourists and locals are meeting friends and strolling along the promenade.

Bournemouth and Poole have wonderful cliff-top routes which can be used by cyclists and e-scooter riders and, whilst this move obviously would not be popular with them, it would be far outweighed by the relief felt by the vast majority of beach and promenade users.

Having personally witnessed near misses and heart-stopping moments on the promenade last summer, it doesn’t take much imagination to realise that it won’t be long before there is a serious, hopefully not fatal, accident.

I’m sorry to say that when (not if) accidents occur this year the blame will be laid entirely at the door of the BCP Council unless something is done quickly to lessen this very real danger.

CAROLE HOLIDAY

West Cliff Road, Bournemouth