Sir – Cyclox has been discussing with the county council whether there could be cycle lanes in both directions on the inner section of Iffley Road, as part of the reconstruction which starts in May.

If the parking remains, this either means taking a large chunk out of the pavement, which is unpalatable, or widening the road, which is unaffordable. So it has become a choice between cycle lanes and parking.

The parking on Iffley Road is mostly for residents, and is the only residents’ parking on Oxford’s busy inner main roads. On all the other main roads, residents have to park in the side streets. There is enough space for everyone to park legally during the day: a certain amount of illegal parking is tolerated at night. Similarly, on most main roads, short-stay parking is provided just round the corner in side streets.

In a few places, parking bays have been cut outside shops, but these are very much the exception, and only provided when there is the most pressing need.

During the reconstruction works, parking on Iffley Road will be suspended.

We think that now is the right time for it to be removed permanently, and to provide cycle lanes instead.

Removing parking in this way is never a happy task, but it is probably best to do it quickly, and make the road much better for cycling and much less obstructed for buses (and cars).

We can only balance parking demand if we have good-quality alternatives, and on Iffley Road we have delayed long enough.

Richard Mann, Cyclox