New cycling and walking lane through Upper Gardens now fully open for use

The new walking and cycling paths through Upper Gardens in Bournemouth are finished and are ready for use.

These new facilities provide a much-improved sustainable and active travel route from the Square, along the south-west side of Upper Gardens to the entrance on Prince of Wales Road.

The new route forms the first part of a 14km sustainable travel route which is being built from Bournemouth Centre to Ferndown. It has been funded by the south east Dorset Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme, which is creating a 78 km network of new cycle and walking routes, bus infrastructure improvements and end of trip facilities for schools and businesses across the region.

All sections of the improved cycle and walking route have been carefully excavated, re-built and re-surfaced and a new wall constructed alongside the tennis courts. As well as the new paths, the work also included improved signage and the installation of better night-time lighting, improving safety for people using the route after dark.

Great care was taken to protect trees and their root systems during the excavation of the old path surface. The renovations employed an advanced system called Cellweb, which forms part of the route’s foundations and is laid under the new base and asphalt surface layers. This protects and encourages the tree’s root systems by allowing water and vital nutrients to permeate through the surface and trickle down into the soil.

Councillor Mike Greene, BCP Council’s portfolio holder for transport and sustainability, said:

"This is a lovely route through our beautiful gardens and with its new surface it looks like a real joy to cycle and walk along.

"The more of these sustainable travel routes that we can complete, the greater the incentive for people to leave their cars at home, particularly for the shorter journeys, and to take up more healthy, greener forms of travel such as cycling, walking and scooting. In this way we can lower the number of cars on our roads and free up the congestion, making travel easier and quicker for those that still need to drive."

Local cyclist commuter Peter Brown said:

"I cycle on this path to get to work every week and am really pleased with the improvements that have been put in place. It’s a much smoother ride, and the enhanced lighting also really makes a difference."