Safer streets for women: a welcome step – now let’s make it count

This week, a joint announcement from Active Travel England, the Minister for Local Transport, Lilian Greenwood, and the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, set out plans for new nationwide guidance to help councils design safer streets. 

In the statement, they shared the shocking but, sadly, expected finding that 9 in 10 women feel unsafe walking at night. As Lilian Greenwood put it, “No one should worry about getting to their destination safely after dark, and these stats show just how much work there is to be done.”.  

Why women’s safety can’t be ignored

It’s also encouraging to see continued ministerial support for improving women’s safety while travelling. Lilian Greenwood has previously highlighted the importance of this issue in Parliament, including supporting our campaign, My ride. Our right during the Westminster Hall debate earlier this year on women’s safety while walking, wheeling, cycling and running.

Safety, and crucially, the feeling of safety, is the single biggest barrier preventing women from walking, wheeling and cycling. It is encouraging to see this reflected so clearly in national policy. The challenge now is turning this ambition into meaningful change on the ground. 

From ambition to action

Through My ride. Our right we have been working to highlight the everyday realities women face when moving around their communities. Whether it’s poorly lit routes, intimidating traffic, or the risk of harassment, too many journeys involve trade-offs between personal safety and practical convenience. For many, that means simply not making the journey at all. 

That’s why this new guidance matters. Done well, it has the potential to reshape how our streets are designed – not just for women, but for everyone. But guidance alone won’t deliver change. It needs to be backed by practical measures and a focus on delivery. Encouragingly, there are already proven, low-cost interventions that local authorities can implement now. 

In our recent report, Making cycling work for women, we set out a series of “easy wins” that could transform how safe streets feel in practice. 

Start with women’s lived experiences

First, we need to start with understanding. Too often, transport systems have been designed around narrow travel patterns that don’t reflect how many women move through the world. Collecting better data, auditing routes for social safety, and actively involving women in planning processes are essential first steps. When women’s experiences are designed in from the outset, the result is infrastructure that works better for everyone. 

Lighting is another critical area. While more lighting is not always the answer, better lighting – thoughtfully designed, well-maintained, and informed by people’s real needs – can make a significant difference. Routes shouldn’t feel isolated, they should be open and navigable, avoiding out-of-the-way paths that may be technically “safe” from traffic but feel unsafe after dark. 

Small changes with immediate impact

There are also straightforward operational changes that can have an immediate impact. Simple measures such as clearing overgrown vegetation, gritting pavements and cycleways in winter, and ensuring routes are well maintained year-round can make journeys feel more accessible and predictable. Likewise, tackling illegal parking that blocks pavements and cycle lanes helps prevent people being forced into unsafe situations. 

Rebalancing our streets is another key opportunity. For decades, traffic flow has been prioritised over people. Adjusting signal timings to reduce waiting times for pedestrians and cyclists, and introducing or expanding 20mph limits, can make streets calmer and more welcoming. Evidence shows that these changes reduce casualties and improve perceptions of safety – both essential if we are serious about enabling more women to travel actively. 

Beyond infrastructure and operations, community support matters too. Initiatives such as women-led cycle training, bike buddy schemes and local cycling groups, like those delivered with the support of Big Bike Revival, can help build confidence and create a sense of shared safety. These programmes recognise that safety is not just about physical design, but also about social environment and confidence. 

The role of everyday infrastructure

Finally, we must not overlook the importance of small but meaningful infrastructure improvements. Well-lit, conveniently located cycle parking, safer side road crossings, and measures like school streets and liveable neighbourhoods all contribute to streets that feel safer and more usable day-to-day. 

The Government’s announcement signals a growing recognition that safety in public space is a fundamental issue, which the Department for Transport has a role in addressing. For Cycling UK, it also reflects the momentum behind campaigns like My ride. Our right, which call for a transport system that truly works for all. 

We look forward to seeing the final guidance and working with the Government and local authorities to ensure it delivers real change – creating streets where women not only are safe, but feel safe, and where everyone has the freedom to choose how they travel.