It’s rare enough that both the city and county councils see eye to eye on anything, and rarer still for me to find myself agreeing with them both. And that it’s April Fools’ Day has nothing to do with it. I am referring to their plan to remove buses altogether from Queen Street when the Westgate development is complete.

Queen Street is bound to busier when the new Westgate is up and running. Will there be room for buses then? Does anyone want buses trundling through a bustling shopping area, albeit very slowly?

Certainly, leaving buses running along Queen Street would seem perverse given that bicycles can’t be ridden along there between 10am and 6pm. Buses are massive, bikes are narrow, and actually better ridden slowly in busy areas rather than pushed.

There’s an entrenched notion that bikes are a menace to pedestrians. This misconception is unfortunate.

Although there is undoubtedly a perceived risk, it is uncommon for a cyclist in Oxford to seriously injure a pedestrian.

The same can’t be said for motor vehicles, sadly.

Although some pedestrians fear bicycles, statistics suggest they would be a lot better off if they kept their eyes on the real danger: cars, buses and lorries.

A Transport Research Laboratory study of cyclist-pedestrian interaction in Queen Street (before the daytime ban on bikes) observed that both parties tended to avoid the other quite naturally and without conflict. When pedestrian levels were highest (at lunchtimes and on Saturdays), cyclists tended to get off and push.

Back to the proposed ban on buses: one bus company has objected to the plans saying that going all the way around the bottom of the new Westgate would raise bus fares and add to air pollution.

I am a regular though reluctant bus user. Regular because my toddler loves the Science Museum and the roads do not feel safe enough to cycle with her. Reluctant because I’d much rather cycle, for fun and economy. I can’t believe fares could go higher. Already they make my eyes water.

Ironically, it is partly the buses I use that put me off cycling with a child passenger on the short journey from Divinity Road to Queen’s Lane. Dealing with Cowley Road and the Plain and High Street is bad enough on your own, but not a danger for a toddler to endure.

The slightly worsened air quality is a fair point. Though on air quality, strategically the councils’ response should be doing more to foster walking and cycling for short journeys. Post-Westgate, Queen Street should be bus-free, with bikes and pedestrians mingling safely. Queen Street is a key east-west route that must be restored.