WALKING along Western Avenue this morning I spoke to a lady coming towards me pushing a wheelchair in the road.

I asked if she thought that what she was doing felt dangerous and she replied that it was but there was no way physically that she could push the chair along the pavement because of the dreadful condition of the surface with so many holes and undulations.

Western Avenue is not the busiest road around but why are our pavements in the borough in such bad condition meaning that walking is possibly more hazardous, especially to the largely elderly population that exists within the BCP area?

When the massive funds were allocated to local councils by the Ministry of Transport, cyclists were even given vouchers to either repair an old bike or buy a new one but those that walk were not given vouchers towards better footwear.

I say that rather tongue-in-cheek but the general point as I see it is that very wide cycle lanes are springing up all over the place but I see very little evidence of improved pavements in an area where pedestrians/walkers far outnumber those moving about on two wheels.

So is BCP adhering to the ‘cycling and walking’ investment strategy outlined by the Department of Transport back in 2020 or has the ‘walking’ aspect been forgotten in the unseemly rush to provide wide cycle lanes, often in areas (eg around Merley/Wimborne/Whitelegg Way etc) where the lesser spotted cyclist is a rare sighting?

Cycling may well be the big thing in the future but there is still the here and now that should be dealt with.

Bournemouth is not Amsterdam where cycling has always been a way of life, and probably will never be.

By the way if Bournemouth (or rather, Bournemouth councillors with grand designs) so desperately wants to become a city, where are the plans for trams that many of our cities already have?

I do wonder if the funds had not been dolled out by national government but came from local council tax BCP council would have been so keen to look after minorities (road cyclists) ahead of the majority (walkers), where the walkers are the majority when it comes to voting in local elections.

DAVID MEADS

Hill View Road, Bournemouth