The Active Mobility Advisory Panel has recommended that bicycles and mobility devices be allowed on footpaths ("Allow mobility devices, bikes on footpaths: Panel"; March 18).

Based on my experience, pedestrians using footpaths in the heartland and at parks and park connectors would probably have encountered the following:

- Bicycles and mobility devices on pedestrian footpaths when there is a wide, well-paved bicycle lane running parallel to the footpath, both of which are clearly marked as footpath and bicycle lane respectively

- Cyclists ringing their bells aggressively to tell pedestrians to get out of the way

- Cyclists coming from the opposite direction who charge at you on two-way narrow shared paths because their way is hindered by slow-moving pedestrians

- Policemen at a park connector who, when asked if they would be checking on illegal e-bike users, say that they were there to give out free bicycle locks to combat theft

In the current debate, it seems it is the safety of cyclists that is uppermost on policymakers' minds.

This is not right, as it is pedestrians who are the most vulnerable, compared to motorists and cyclists.

The code of conduct proposed by the advisory panel is not going to be much of a deterrent against reckless cyclists, especially as they may now believe that pedestrians must look out for their own safety ("Pedestrians with right of way 'must still share responsibility'"; March 19).

Mr Lee Chee Chew's Punchlines contribution ("Chee Chew's take on... Safety"; March 18) captures perfectly the peculiar situation in which pedestrians who obey the law must still find exceptional ways to protect themselves - to be safe, they may well have to walk via the drains.

Agnes Sng (Ms)