As someone who has mental health issues and is at times both a cyclist and a pedestrian (not a motorist), I see the problem as very complex.
When I am cycling on shared pathways I do my best to accommodate pedestrians, I have a bell and slow my speed, but some pedestrians are totally oblivious to the outside world using mobile phones and wearing headphones blaring out music, so however much I shout and ring my bell they take no notice.
On the other hand as a pedestrian myself and suffering from severe anxiety, I find it very intimidating when out of nowhere a cyclist comes blasting past me from behind or seems to be aiming for me to move from in front, have also had it where a cyclist nearly ran into me while using a mobile and headphones.
I am not saying the woman in the article was right, in fact I think she was very wrong, but pavements have become very scary places for cyclists and pedestrians alike.