MY PARTNER was walking from the Oxford Business Park towards The Swan one evening last week.

He was passed, on the pavement, by a woman cyclist travelling in the same direction. She overtook on his left hand side, on the inside of the pavement, and was very close. There is no cycle lane at this point.

She then got on to the road and stopped at the traffic lights. My partner decided to speak to her, politely, to point out how inconsiderate she was of pavement users. He was met with rolled eyes and a refusal to acknowledge any wrongdoing. He then noticed a police car behind her, the driver rolled down the window and asked if there was a problem. He explained the situation and asked what the police were prepared to do about this.

The policeman replied that they couldn’t do anything because there are hundreds of them, meaning cyclists on the pavement.

Well, Mr Policeman, there are hundreds of them because you don’t do anything. If you did you might find these numbers would reduce and using the pavement as a pedestrian would be a pleasanter and safer experience.

It is not enough to carry out a token exercise to catch cyclists without lights.

You need to remind cyclists that they shouldn’t be on the pavement. Surely any fines you impose for this do not have to be repaid as they do for any cyclist fined for riding without lights, who later proves he has brought some.

FRANCES LEAR
Edmund Road
Cowley
Oxford