I am writing in response to Fran, Monica, Amanda and Caroline’s letter (‘Where do you want children to cycle?’, Your Views, April 9).

I agree that this is a great place for children to learn to cycle.

As a cyclist and dog walker who regularly uses the new path, there is no reason why all users – walkers (with or without dogs and/or pushchairs), joggers, scooter and skateboard users and cyclists should not be able to safely share these paths if consideration and care is shown by all.

Cyclists need to slow down if they see a dog ahead of them – dogs don’t tend to walk in a straight line, especially if they have their noses to the ground. Today my dog was hit by a child cyclist who was going slowly enough but not watching the path ahead. It is also helpful to ring your bell if coming up behind people or say ‘excuse me’ as most bicycles cannot be heard.

Unfortunately, dogs don’t know how to identify a cycle path from a pedestrian one (like those that start from Totteridge Lane), but their owners certainly have no excuse. The council could help by repainting the cyclist picture on the path more prominently.

Some dogs who have a chase instinct will chase bicycles, not usually with the intention of biting you. If you slow down or stop your bike, their owner can catch up and grab them. Kicking out will probably result in you falling off your bike and causing you more harm than the dog.

With a little bit of consideration we can all enjoy these new paths.

Sue Goodwin

Sussex Ring, Woodside Park