Sir - For the past 30 years I have occupied an office in the Bodleian Library overlooking the intersection at the bottom of Broad Street where a cyclist was killed last week.

Not a day goes by without motorists sounding horns and yelling obscenities at cyclists and pedestrians at this point. This happens for two reasons.

The first is that it is by no means clear to pedestrians when it is safe to cross, and the second is that most motorists do not seem to understand that according to the Highway Code (as well as decency and common sense) they should give priority to pedestrians who are crossing the road into which they are turning, and not expect them to scatter and give way. They might also consider slowing down.

This intersection is one of several in central Oxford where the traffic lights should be removed, and the streets landscaped in such a way as to give priority to pedestrians and cyclists at all times. There is no reason to speed up the traffic flow as it is not a through route, and in any case, pedestrians and cyclists far outnumber cars at this point, which is in the heart of student and tourist territory.

I hope the council will act quickly to deal with this problem. I also hope that their response will not be to introduce the silly crossings that are now found in High Street and at the entrance to Thames Street, which tell motorists when to stop and go, but not pedestrians.

David Helliwell, Oxford