ONE thing the quiet roads of the Covid-19 lockdown taught us was just how congested and polluted our neighbourhoods are.

With traffic levels shooting up again and public transport capacity limited, all credit to the council for quickly developing pop-up cycle lanes.

The schemes may not be perfect - undoubtedly there’s room to learn from what’s worked and what hasn’t and to adapt accordingly.

However, if we want safer, healthier communities, we must avoid shooting these schemes down with knee jerk reactions, and instead look to what can be improved.

Of course, we should flag up legitimate concerns, but we should do so constructively, recognising the importance of positive change on our streets to create neighbourhoods which work for everyone.

If you want to know the facts then look at the evidence on the "We are Cycling UK" website.

Jill McNamee, by email