On Sun, 21 Jul 2013 15:30:06 +0100, Alexis
wrote:

"Reported injuries from collisions between pedestrians and cyclists
are low. A study for the DfT in 1993 found that there were "no real
factors to justify excluding cyclists from pedestrianised areas", and
there must at least be some parallels with shared use paths."

The key is the phrase "reported injury". Most incidents of cyclists
striking pedestrians on footpaths and pedestrian areas go unreported
and unrecorded even when the consequences are serious.