I too was startled in Amsterdam, but wasn’t used to the environment

I WAS intrigued by the letter from Peter Hollis (Letters March 21) in which he says that what terrified him and his wife on a visit to Amsterdam was “the cycle traffic with minimal separation between speeding bicycles and walkers”.

I too have visited Amsterdam and been startled by bicycles passing close by. However, I would suggest that this is due to the fact that I am not used to such an environment. In fact I was not hit by any of the numerous cyclists in Amsterdam, nor did I witness any collisions between pedestrians and cyclists during my visit. I suggest that in reality that danger is more perceived than real.

If there is a major conflict between cyclists and pedestrians in Amsterdam, then I would expect the local population to be “up in arms” and calling for changes to the rules and infrastructure. A Google search revealed none.

This does not mean that it is inappropriate to provide segregated pedestrian and cycling tracks, but it does indicate that it is possible to share space safely.

The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation has recently published a study “Creating better streets: Inclusive and accessible places” which includes this: “The designs of pedestrian-prioritised streets have meant that they are useable by cyclists without requiring any dedicated facilities. Again, the review has been mindful of research carried out by TRL which showed that conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists in fully pedestrianised streets are rare, with cyclists slowing and eventually dismounting as pedestrian volumes increase”.

Most of the letters objecting to allowing cycling in the town centre have referred to current transgressing cyclists. Unless the council or police are prepared to put increasingly limited resources into deterring such cyclists, these will continue to ride through, while others will continue to risk the slalom around the cars parked in the cycle lanes on the ring road.

Leicester changed the rules and allowed cyclists to pass through the city centre and found that there was no appreciable increase in the level of complaints due to conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists.

I suggest that the council should proceed with its plan to allow cycling across the town centre with a review after a year.

If we are to reap the benefits of active travel in reducing heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes, we need to encourage people to convert from motorist pedestrians to cycling pedestrians. Allowing cyclists to access the town centre will help with this change of culture.

John Catt