I HAVE to disagree with your readers recent letters calling for banning cyclists from Bournemouth promenade.

Many people, including grannies and grandads and young children, enjoy cycling along the beach because of the scenery, the fact that on the whole it is a safe environment rather than a main road, and it is pollution free.

Rather than stopping it altogether there needs to be two segregated areas, similar to that between Bournemouth pier and Boscombe pier, with the red way being extremely wide for pedestrians while the road is for bikes, maintenance and emergency vehicles, etc.

It would mean taking out a bit of the sandy area between Hengisbury Head and up to the Jazz Cafe all along the route to build it, but it would be worth it in the end as the sandy beach isn’t used at maximum capacity most of the time.

It would probably attract more tourists throughout the year and encourage more locals to get fitter and save the NHS a bit of money.

If there are problems with speeding cyclists near beach huts or elsewhere they can be dealt with by putting in ramps, confiscating their bikes or having them crushed after a few warnings – fines don’t seem to work.

COLIN GRIMLEY

Robert Louis Stevenson Avenue, Bournemouth