Work is set to begin in March on the construction of new sustainable travel facilities along Wimborne Road East and West in Ferndown between Canford Bottom and Trickett’s Cross roundabouts. The project will take place in three phases and will see the area benefit from 4.3km of new cycle, walking and bus infrastructure improvements.
It will form part of the 27km green travel route linking Wimborne and Ferndown with Poole town centre, which includes the new cycle and walking paths and bus improvement work currently underway along Leigh Road, Wimborne Road West and Ringwood Road.
The work is being undertaken by Dorset Council and is part of the £100m+ south east Dorset Transforming Cities Fund1 (TCF) programme, a joint project between Dorset and BCP councils, the largest ever programme of investment in sustainable transport infrastructure in the region.
The first phase of work is along the 1.5km section of Wimborne Road between Cobham Road and Canford Bottom Roundabout. Due to start construction early March 2022 and complete in autumn 2022, the work includes:
- Converting the existing footway on the north side of Wimborne Road West between Canford Bottom Roundabout and Cobham Road to a new 3.5m-wide shared use facility for both walking and cycling, with wildflower planting introduced along the route. This will connect into the Castleman Trailway and the existing walking and cycling facilities on Canford Bottom Roundabout.
- Upgrading bus stops along the route, with new shelters and real time information introduced, and improved accessibility.
- Removing the dedicated right-turn lane for traffic into Stapehill Abbey to provide space for the shared use walking and cycling path. Vehicles will still be able to turn right into the road.
- Improving the junctions at Stapehill Road and Uddens Drive, with layouts enhanced to improve safety and the introduction of a signalised crossing point.
- Improving Cobham Road, with the junction redesigned and new technology introduced. The dedicated left-turn lane into Ferndown Industrial Estate will remain. New crossings will be installed, with a segregated cycle and pedestrian crossing over Cobham Road and a pedestrian crossing over Wimborne Road providing access to the westbound bus stop.
- Upgrading bus stop locations along the route, including two new shelters at Uddens Drive.
- Improved wayfinding signage for pedestrians, cyclists and mobility scooter users.
- Two bus stop laybys and one regular layby on the north side of the road will be removed to provide space for the shared path.
The improvements will connect to the Castleman Trailway and other existing cycle routes on Leigh Road and Ham Lane. The improvements will also connect with future TCF schemes on Ringwood Road, providing a joined-up network in the area.
Dorset Council will also be working together with Southern Gas Networks (SGN) on this project, who will be replacing a gas main between Uddens Drive and Cobham Road at the same time. This will combine the projects and ensure traffic disruption is reduced as much as possible. Southern Gas Network’s project starts on 7 February 2022.
Phase two covers the section of Wimborne Road between Trickett’s Cross Roundabout and West Moors Road. Work is due to start on late March 2022 with completion anticipated for autumn 2022. Phase two works include:
- A new toucan crossing on Wimborne Road East near Trickett’s Cross Roundabout.
- Converting the existing footway on the north side of Wimborne Road East to a new shared path between Trickett’s Cross Roundabout and West Moors Road.
- More priority for cyclists and pedestrians at the junctions of Wimborne Road East and adjoining roads on the north side.
- Accessibility improvements, including dropped kerbs and tactile paving, at the junctions of Wimborne Road East and adjoining roads on the south side.
- Improved wayfinding signage for pedestrians, cyclists and mobility scooter users.
To minimise traffic disruption and maximise efficiencies, construction will be undertaken in sections up to 400m long. Traffic will be managed with a mix of traffic lights and stop/go boards. Some road closures and diversions will be required; affected businesses and residents will be informed about these around two weeks beforehand.
The final third phase of work on Wimborne Road between Cobham Road and West Moors Road is anticipated to start following completion of phase one in autumn 2022. Design work is ongoing for this phase and further information will be provided at a later date.
Councillor Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Highways, Travel and Environment said:
“South East Dorset is one of the most congested regions in the country. We are proud to be investing in safe, sustainable ways of getting around locally without having to rely on the car all the time. The new cycle, walking and bus improvements along Wimborne Road provide quick and easy ways of travelling to and from residential areas, local schools and centres of employment including Ferndown town centre and Ferndown Industrial Estate.
“We have been particularly keen to take the views of local residents and businesses into consideration when developing these plans. We hope that once completed, these improvements will significantly benefit the Ferndown area and provide much needed upgrades to the local transport infrastructure.
“The route will connect into the current sustainable travel improvements on Leigh Road and Ringwood Road eventually creating a continuous link between Wimborne, Ferndown, Longham and further afield to Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch. We are excited about these improvements which will transform local travel, help to reduce road congestion and pollution, improve air quality and bring both economic and health benefits.”
Danny Godfrey, Chairman of Ferndown and Uddens Business Improvement District said:
“We welcome the improvements along Wimborne Road that will make walking, cycling or catching the bus to work much more appealing. There are many benefits to active travel, not only physical and mental health benefits but also journey reliability and doing your bit for the environment by reducing car emissions. With over 4,000 people working on the Ferndown Industrial Estate, we look forward to the completion of the project and local workers being able to use the new facilities.”
Plans for these improvements were informed by responses gathered during public engagement late 2020 and formal consultation which ran 10 May to 14 June 2021. All responses were analysed and helped shape the final scheme designs.
A report summarising the results of consultation for the Canford Bottom Roundabout – Cobham Road route is available here and for the West Moors Road – Trickett’s Cross Roundabout route here.
A ‘responses to consultation’ report for the Canford Bottom Roundabout – Cobham Road route is available here and for the West Moors Road – Trickett’s Cross Roundabout route here.
Reports for the Cobham Road – West Moors Road route will be published once design plans have been finalised.
Find out more about the Wimborne Road, sustainable travel scheme.
Hi,
I’m sure it has been mentioned many times, but why is there nothing in this plan to join end of Leigh road into wimborne and then up to gravel hill .
I can’t fathom why these 2 obviously dangerous bits of road aren’t included.
It would then all link up !
Maybe one day it will get done
Hi Paul
I understand that Leigh Road is too narrow to do anything about making a cycleway. However there are a few alternative ways you can get to join up with the castleman trailway at the willet arms more safely.
For instance on Leigh Road you can go down Brook Rd to the end and follow the river path to Canford Bridge – or just before the end of Brook Road go R behind the new houses – or take Gordon Road into the Estate and follow Hardy Crescent round. All these routes will take you into Station Rd which takes you to Canford Bridge and then follow the cycle path up Oakley Hill to get to the Willet Arms. This of course leads into the Castleman Trailway and onto Broadstone & Poole . There is a longer route to get to station road if you turn off Leigh Road down Parmiter Drive. There is new path which goes past the new Wimborne Town Football club stadium, past the new skateboard park and behind Brook Road Industrial Park and then along the River Path . Happy Cycling. Dave
Please could a detailed plan be provided. As a resident along this route we have had no communication from the council informing us of any work that will be taking place or how it will impact residents.
Please could I also have contact details of someone I could speak to about the scheme.
Kind regards
Hi Joe, more information about the plan is available here: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/transforming-travel/wimborne-road-ferndown-sustainable-travel-scheme
Affected businesses and residents will be informed about any works around two weeks before they begin. To contact the Transforming Travel project team with any questions, please email: transformingtravel@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Great. After months of work by the Angel, and constant gas and water works on Ringwood Road, and the delays in Ringwood, and Whitelegg Way, and Parley Lane, and New Road Bridge, and Longham, etc, etc, we now get more roadworks, for barely used cycle lanes. Why do you guys hate Ferndown so much?
I am against traffic lights or any other beefing up or highlighting of traffic along Stapehill Rd. This lane is becoming thoroughfare and a siphon of traffic that should go to the roundabout.
I may be missing something but there doesn’t appear to be a map detailing this work available in or linked to this post. Whilst I recognise many of the street and place names mentioned, I can’t picture exactly what is being planned, though I am in full agreement with all of these improvements so far completed.
Hi Joe, thanks for your comment. You can find more information about the plans here: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/transforming-travel/wimborne-road-ferndown-sustainable-travel-scheme
Ok, right – so to ease congestion there’s going to be even more traffic control congestion through the busy summer months along Wimborne Road, Ferndown. Is the environmental impact of the queueing vehicles churning out fumes etc taken into account?
As one currently affected by the cycleway construction along Ringwood Road in Ferndown, which is scheduled to be continuing until June 2023, I despair and join Kevin – what have we done to deserve this?
again what a waste of money .You still find bikes on the road not using the new cycle lanes ,but ha ho just throw more money at it .
Most of the elderly residents in this area have no intention of riding a bike !
Do you realise that our climate is not good for bike riding ,especially in the winter and although we have heard many silly claims around the use of these lanes , they remain empty most of the time, in fact the last cyclist I saw on Ham Lane was still using the road..doh.!
May I ask the councillors how many of them use bikes for work and shopping.?
Will these cycleways ever become used by all cyclists not just families enjoying a weekend ride and the others still using the roads without paying to use them like all other road users we need to make it law that if there is a cycle track they must use it!!!
Yes, I used it on Saturday, and it is a fantastic addition to our travel scene. Get on your bike!
Well done Dorset,
If you really want to improve air quality and the environment generally the money would be better spent on electric car charging areas.
On the various stretches of road already completed with wide new cycle ways I have yet to notice a cyclist ….I think it is fanciful to think that significant numbers of people will use these in the local climate.
A public consultation in the midst of a pandemic is not likely to provide reliable insights into travel behavior over the mid to long term.
If it’s anything like Whitelegg Way … please stop. All they had to do there was one wider pavement on the old Wimborne Road. The argument against mixing Bus traffic and bikes was/is utter nonsense, what buses? … come to that, what bikes? The dangerous element of all road architecture, as it is for cars, is junctions, wether they be light controlled, T or roundabouts. All the data shows, from the very sources you use for planning, that the junctions require re-engineering.
I’m a Driver, a cyclist and a pedestrian. But its foremost as a cyclist I am excited by this project. Connecting Wimborne to Tricketts cross will be great. [ and there has been talk of improving the pavement between tricketts x and ringwood as a dual path alongside the A31] It will do a great deal to encourage people to get on a bike safely. You need to provide the infrastructure first. I’m in my eighties and hope I might see the fulfillment of this project before I die naturally or before a driver kills me by driving far too close as they pass, as many do. I’ve been hit on the head by a wing mirror [ luckily I wear a hemet] , cut up too many times to mention [ especially as people who want to turn left and overtake me very late as I go straight on.] The construction will bring out the usual complaints from the ‘Clarksonites’ I suppose and complaints cyclists don’t obey the traffic rules. But I bet there arent many motorists who keep to the speed limit. As a driver I constantly get people tailgating me as I endeavour to keep it to under 30 on the stretch on Wimborne Rd East between West Moors Road and the Pure Drop. Yes there’s going to be delays – but I think it will be worth it as it has been on the almost completed stretch between Canford Bottom and Wimborne. Incidentally I understand it won’t impact finanacially on the Council Tax as the money is coming from Central Government. So it’s for the future of our kids in the long run and the next generation.
Ferndown is now cut off from Poole, Wimborne, Biurnemouth, Christchurch, and Southampton from Ringwood onwards due to roadworks for cycle lanes..This is sheer madness & causing hours of delay to get to work etc. Still HGV’S allowed along these routes through town centre instead of using the bypass. I agree with other comments about the stupidity of it all
Dear Dorset council.
I have a few questions about the planned cycle lane to be built on wimborne road west.
I live on wimborne road west between the industrial estate and staphill road. And every day we have drivers speed down this road sometimes doing around 60-70 or more miles per hour.
Is the road going to be made narrower due to the new cycle lane.And is the speed limit going to be reduced to 30 MPH.
I also see on your plan you are going to install new traffic lights at the thatched pub. What’s the point of that short stretch of cycle lane on staphill road that doesn’t go anywhere.
Ferndown is cut off from Bournmouth, Poole, Wimborne, Christchurch, & A35 after Ringwood, due to roadworks for cycle lanes .This has been
going on already for months & is to continue for many more.
I agree with Cheryll & Kevin have the council any idea of the misery trying to get to work,hospitals shops in fact any where out of Ferndown.
Cyclists do not have to use the cycle lanes so what is the point of them.?
The track past Hurn is not used & causes tremendous problems for motorists
Pity the awful state of the roads & pavements are not repaired instead.
‘Sustainable Traffic Facilities’ just about tells us all we need to know. Not a local so not as interested as others, however I lost interest entirely at ‘signalised crossing point’. If this is the English used by the people planning this extravagant waste of our money you just know it’s going to be so bad as the be awarded prizes in the future.
So, given the quote of 4000 folks working on Ferndown Industrial Estate.. have these guys been polled to determine if any of this work will result in any of them using busses or cycle ways to get to work. If not, this is a great waste of resources and time to deliver what may never be fully utilised.
Are the same folks responsible for all of this at the council as delivered the horrendous Canford Bottom roundabout… the biggest waste of £9M we have ever seen!!
absolutely no point in trying to make a comment to the council as they will never, ever listen. they make their minds up about something in advance of any ‘consultations’ & thats that. we pay our council & other taxes but are never listened to & even if you vote one out, the replacement will do no more listening that the one ousted. its so very easy to spend other peoples money on poor ideas & projects & most councils up & down the country do that again & again.
What will happen to bus routes when the road closes in the 7th March as my daughter uses bus 13 to get to college in Bournemouth???
Hi Lydia, More Bus will be able to give more information about this. You can contact them by emailing enquiries@morebus.co.uk