People’s pathway

Robert Greenshield’s letter (29 October) on the perils of pedestrians and cyclists sharing the same pathway raised a matter worthy of concern.

His suggestion of demarcation of different zones seems to work reasonably well on the Meadows in Edinburgh but was ill-observed on the Cramond esplanade even when the signs were visible.

One way to mitigate the danger is for pedestrians, walking or running, to keep to the right so that they can see the oncoming bicycle traffic, while leaving space on their left for those overtaking them – there being few instances of people having eyes on the back of the head.

This is the rule which applies on a road without a sidewalk. On a recent walk I noticed I was the only one doing this but would maintain that all the others were out of step.

In her letter (30 October) Jessie Kilgour mentions problems between cyclists and horse riders. When I silently cycled up behind a rider I found it useful to call out and ask if it was alright to pass.

Some said yes, others halted their steed on a tight rein. I felt this practice was not only polite but also reduced the risk of being trampled by half a ton of startled horse.

S Beck

Craigleith Drive

Edinburgh

It seems that much of the tension between cyclists, pedestrians and drivers is to do with a lack of empathy. If you’ve never cycled in a city you won’t now how absolutely terrifying it can be. Let’s try live together.

LUCY McLeod

Nile Grove

Edinburgh