Sir – Many walkers will be disappointed to learn (Report, March 15) that, under guises of ‘improvement’ and ‘upgrade’, the canal towpath in Jericho is to be marred with an artificial surface to encourage more and speedier mechanised transport, although it is doubtful if there is space for two cyclists to pass each other. Most do not have bells and walkers will have to be constantly on the alert for attempts to overtake them on either side, back and front.
The latter do not appear to have been consulted and one cannot help but notice from your photograph that the member of the city council reported as welcoming the scheme is a cyclist.
As a cyclist for many years, I appreciate that cycling should be encouraged; but in Oxford it is so often at the expense of the comfort and safety of walkers, whether on pavements and towpaths or in parks. Walking is just as healthy and is accessible to people of all ages without a machine.
Robert Sephton, Abingdon
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