The anti-cycling lane comments printed in The Argus over the past few weeks are frankly ridiculous. To those who are making daft, unsubstantiated comments, let me help you out. Yes the cycle lane seems expensive but then consider the amount of money that is spent subsidising motor transport – many billions are spent on the road and fuel infrastructure each year and the aforementioned infrastructure needed to be in place before motor transport became widely used. Now compare that huge investment to the mere few millions spent on cycle transport each year – and don’t forget cyclists also pay taxes and these taxes fund the road transport system – and also consider that the latest published figures indicate there are 15 million of us who do cycle regularly.

To further increase the number of cyclists prepared to cycle instead of drive, we should also expect to invest in cycle infrastructure to encourage cycling in a similar manner as we once did, and we currently do, to support the road and fuel infrastructure. Why should it be any different for cycling?

The new cycle lane has been placed on the Old Shoreham Road to encourage kids to cycle and to encourage parents to see that cycling can be made safer for their kids. I’ve lost count of the number of ridiculous statements from letter writers who say they haven’t see any cyclists on the new lane, and I say to them why don’t you take a look in the hour leading up to school opening time and you’ll see dozens of cyclists using the new facility, which is fantastic. Now consider the other benefits to motorists; more cyclists mean less cars on the road, which in turn means more space for you as a driver and a reduced likelihood of a congestion charge in Brighton being brought in to manage car use. On top of that, the reduction in the NHS bill due to increased activity associated with cycling could be massive, and this will leave more funds available to support others. Anyone who disagrees with the above is in my opinion short-sighted and afraid of change for the better.

Graham Howson, Furze Hill, Hove