Cycle hazards

I was sad to hear from Aaron Leaman (Waikato Times, May 1) about the hazards faced by cyclists. However, it appears to me as an inveterate Hamilton pedestrian that most of the cyclists I encounter avoid the road and the cycle tracks specially laid out for them and choose to ride on footpaths – often at dangerously high speeds and in the obvious expectation that pedestrians will get out of their way. By contrast, I find motorists demonstrate frequent courtesy, often giving way to me at crossings, when there is no legal obligation to do so. Perhaps cyclists would gain more sympathy from some of us if they kept off footpaths or at least showed more courtesy towards pedestrians, whose thoroughfares they are illegally using.

D H Foreman, Hamilton