The huge rise in people cycling to work should be a cause for celebration (The Argus, March 27).

It’s the result of a number of factors, including a slow but steady investment in cycling by councils of all political colours over the past decade, the growing awareness of cycling’s many benefits (health, cost, speed, etc) and its rise in popularity (the Bradley Wiggins effect).

However, it’s a pity The Argus didn’t take the opportunity to ask cyclists what they thought of the city’s cycling provision.

All too often cyclists can suffer abuse and intimidation on the roads. While there are many considerate and safe drivers, there are a significant number who still insist on driving too fast and too close. This is deterring many people from cycling.

In addition, the quality and quantity of cycle facilities needs to improve and cycle lanes need to join up to create a coherent network. The fact that many parents still won’t allow their children to cycle on the road unsupervised, fearing it is too dangerous, tells us that we still have a long way to go.

That makes the slow pace of change particularly frustrating.

The recent stalling of the Dyke Road cycle lanes, for example, leaves a gap in the strategic cycle network unfilled.

Existing cyclists are just expected to put up with it, while most people won’t even consider cycling until these missing links in our road network are addressed.

It’s about time we recognised that encouraging cycling is a good thing economically as well as environmentally – and that in a place which is tight for space, the more people we can get cycling, the better it will be for everyone.

Chris Todd, Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth

Your reporter must be living in a different Brighton to me.

The previous week to your cycling story, we had an article on how the number of cars had gone down. It showed a photo of a street full of said cars. Not a space to be seen.

Now we have a statement that says cycling has more than doubled over the past ten years.

I would like to know the increase over the past two years.

Going on the empty cycle lanes, the figure looks like a propaganda exercise.

Chris Harvey-Jones, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton