Father calls for cycle ban on Bournemouth Spur Road after son's death

Christopher Gibbs was killed in October 2017

A father whose son was killed as he cycled along a dual carriageway called for cyclists to be banned from the stretch of road.

Christopher Gibbs was hit by a van on the A338 Bournemouth Spur Road in 2017.

On Thursday, two councils in Dorset said they would not follow a coroner's recommendation to install cycle lanes.

Mr Gibbs' dad, Rob Barron, said if cycle lanes were not an option, the councils should take the "obvious step" of banning cyclists from the route.

Van driver Kevin Johnson, 58, of Thatcham, Berkshire, was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work after admitting causing Mr Gibbs' death by careless driving on 3 October 2017.

After the inquest, Dorset Assistant Coroner Richard Middleton said installing cycle lanes and signs warning drivers of cyclists would prevent future deaths.

But Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) and Dorset councils, which jointly manage the road, said they had no plans to implement the recommendations.

Work to upgrade the spur road has been going on since September 2018

Mr Gibbs said the councils' response was "expected" but added: "I can't understand why, knowing that this road with a top speed of 70mph is unsuitable for cyclists... they still don't take the obvious step of taking cyclists off that road altogether.

"They should either make the road safer for cyclists with cycle lanes and/or proper lighting or they should ban cycling on that road.

"Taking no action at all leaves cyclists in real danger so other people still face going through the horrendous pain and heartache that we've been going through."

Dorset Council road safety manager Mike Potter said any discussions about banning cyclists would need a joint decision between councils.

BCP Council highways head Gary Powell said the authority had introduced safer parallel routes to the A338 along with hard strips on "significant sections" of dual carriageway to separate cyclists from traffic.