I agree that walking your bike through a dangerous intersection is a useful tool, but what Catrin said--that she does this when stopped at red lights generally--does give me a bit of pause. If, objectivley, she's having trouble getting started from a stopped position, e.g., at a red light, then it might be useful to work on that skill before trying to commute or ride in urban traffic. It's not really desirable to walk your bike through every intersection at which you get stopped after all, at least not in my opinion.

If she just has the perception that she's slow to start and annoying to traffic, then it might just be a confidence thing, but that's something you definitely need in order to deal with traffic effectively, too. Riding in traffic does take a certain mindset--not overconfidence mind you, but a healthy degree of assertiveness. For instance, when I'm going through an intersection with traffic behind me, I figure they're just going to have to deal with the slight delay. I'll get out of there way when it's safe for me to do so. If they're annoyed, then oh well.

Catrin, just to be clear, I'm not trying to make you feel bad for walking your bike through intersections; I just want to encourage you to continue working on your handling skills so that, objectively, you're a better cyclist and so that you feel more confident. I certainly don't want to sound unsupportive, as I think the progress you've made in just over a year's time is quite admirable.

I would add that I tend to think some of your bike handling issues are going to be easier to resolve when you get the Gunnar. It's likely going to be substantially lighter and more nimble than your LHT. Not that the LHT isn't a great bike, but I think it takes a bit more finesse to handle it.