I’VE always maintained that if you are going to state your point of view on these pages you should at least try to get your facts straight, and that is what I’ve always tried my best to do. If, however, there comes a time you are proved wrong you should be prepared to admit it.

This happens to be one of those times. D J Cook, in his letter of February 17, was correct in stating there was a cycle lane at the shops in The Avenue, so I must concede on the fact I said the cyclist was wrong in telling the lady driver she was blocking the lane. He was of course absolutely within his rights.

Where I went wrong, of course, was to assume the motorist, Fiona Miller, could see “nothing but a pavement” and knew what she was saying.

What I find strange about this particular stretch of road is that where there is plenty of room on the pavement (from the law courts onward) there is not only a cycle lane on the road (in the bus lane) but also a combined cycle and pedestrian pathway, something I disagree with, and yet when the pavement narrows (at the shops) the two separate into a painted cycle lane and a pedestrian-only pavement.

Surely where there is plenty of room the two paths should be separate, especially as this is given to two-way traffic for cyclists and pedestrians alike, and only when space is limited should they merge, or the cyclist be forced back on the road.

L A O’BEE, Southampton.