As I write this, it is a little over 50 days since Labour was elected to run Brighton and Hove City Council. Usually politicians look at their first 100 days in office, initially talking about their primary ambitions and then their record.

The new Labour administration has been quick to reverse some of the decisions of the previous Green council. Public toilets are being reopened (but not yet, sadly, the one in the Pavilion Gardens). Reviews are being undertaken on parking charges, on fining businesses who don’t remove tagging on their properties, and on the Valley Gardens traffic scheme. Action has been promised on dealing with weeds that are growing on the pavements, but with little evidence of this having happened, at least in the areas I walk my dog, Molly.

Of course the new administration wishes to put clear blue water (should that be green water?) between itself and its predecessors.

Not everything the Greens did was wrong. Yes, they might have been poor communicators and inept in the implementation of worthy schemes such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone and the designation of cycle lanes.

In both cases, the Greens failed to take communities with them and these schemes’ apparent unpopularity was as much to do with their imposition as with the plans themselves.

The decision to have a rethink on the cycle lane provision to the west of the Peace Statue has been both welcomed and condemned. The area to the west of the Hove Lawns is particularly problematic.

I am a keen cyclist. I learned to ride a bike when I was three or four years old and have cycled for much of my life. We had assorted bikes at home including two tandems, one of which was made by welding two old bikes together. It worked fine until the welding gave way while my parents were out on it.

I did take a cycling break after my daughter was born. I narrowly missed being hit by a bus when she was just a few weeks old. I put my bicycle away that day and never rode it again. It rotted and rusted in our yard. I started cycling again after Clare had graduated from university. I felt my responsibilities as her father had, largely, been fulfilled and I could, once again, face the real dangers posed by Brighton’s motorists.

But things had changed and continue to change for the better.

Cycle lanes had been introduced, a sign of positive progress in the city, contrary to what some idiot car drivers might have you believe.

The cycle lane along Madeira Drive is a joy to use now that it is not sharing space with pedestrians. Whoever thought up the concept of “shared spaces” for cars, cyclists and pedestrians should never, ever be allowed to influence the design of public places in the future.

The first two phases of the Valley Gardens are wonderful, with well-designed and maintained cycle paths separated from the improved pedestrian areas. I hope that the delays in completing the final phase, from the Pavilion to the pier, will not be protracted as the routes north and south in the Old Steine are a complete and utter nightmare for cyclists.

Returning to the seafront cycle lanes, I am willing to give the new council the benefit of the doubt about its decision to put on hold planned works. Two weeks ago, I was delighted to accompany the chairman of the transport and sustainability committee Cllr Trevor Muten on a cycle ride along the Hove seafront. He pointed out where and why he thought the existing proposals were problematic and how they could be improved.

I was impressed by his thoughtfulness, and his wish to engage with representatives of cycling groups in the city.

Hopefully others will also give the administration, and Cllr Muten, the benefit of the doubt. In Brighton and Hove we are lucky to have groups like Bricycles and people like Katy Rodda, Mark Strong, Chris Todd, Becky Reynolds and others, all of who have a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding cycle planning.

The administration should draw on their expertise to come up with a scheme that meets its ambitions to improve what is currently proposed.

The worst outcome for the Hove seafront cycle lane upgrade would be a lengthy delay in deciding on a new scheme and then it not being an improvement on what the Greens proposed. It mustn’t be a case of throwing the bike out with the bath water.

Some motorists will, no doubt, condemn whatever is decided.

They will continue to whinge, squeal and shout until the very last inch of cycle lane has been scrapped. They should be ignored because they are trying to stop progress in making Brighton and Hove a truly bike-friendly city.