YOU will not go very far in Oxford without seeing a cyclist. Like London or Bristol, it’s a place that has taken what some see as a divisive form of transport to heart.

But everyone knows that when cars and bikes share busy roads, there’s a chance of trouble.

The figures in our front page story today clearly show this is not a problem that is going away.

Despite safety improvements carried out by the county council, such as those in Cowley Road seven years ago, accidents have slowly but surely gone up.

Campaigners are right in saying more needs to be done to resolve this perennial problem.

As David Nimmo-Smith makes clear on this page today, the county council is committed to improvements. But first we must decide what kind of city we want to live in.

The fact is, in a city the size and age of Oxford, there is only a limited amount of road space.

We cannot double the width of Cowley Road to accommodate its ever growing population of cyclists and drivers.

So, do we want to prioritise cars, or cyclists? We can’t do both.

If we want to become a genuinely pro-cycling city like Amsterdam, we have a long way to go and will need to be bold and find a lot of money.

There is not a lot of the filthy lucre about at present, so whether your preference is two wheels or four, it is going to be a very long journey.