Women ‘delay biking’ over fears of unlit routes and harassment | Politics | News | EUROtoday

I’m a commuter bike owner, so I’m usually out and about on my bike when it is darkish – particularly in these grim winter months.

But at any time when I’m out late, I discover myself weighing up the selection between well-lit roads with heavy visitors – or quiet, unlit cycle lanes or tow paths, free from vehicles.

Talk about being caught between a rock and a tough place.

So many ladies have informed me, “there are cycle paths I don’t feel safe to use at night”.  That’s why the Daily Express streetlight marketing campaign issues.

It displays an all-too-familiar actuality for girls like me who plan their lives round what feels secure after darkish, moderately than what’s simple or smart.

It’s why my workforce at Cycling UK launched our ‘My ride. Our right’ marketing campaign final 12 months.

While the Daily Express and Cycling UK campaigns could have barely totally different focuses, they share the identical reality: whether or not you’re strolling or biking, feeling secure in public needs to be a fundamental human proper.

Women deserve the identical rights as males to maneuver round freely, confidently and with out worry. Lighting can play a quiet however highly effective function in that. It shapes how streets are used and who feels welcome on them.

We know ladies make half as many journeys by bike as males and usually tend to be delay biking by fears of unlit routes and harassment.

We additionally know the way small issues could make a giant distinction to ladies’s perceptions of security. In locations with improved lighting, calmer speeds and cycle parking in a very good, seen location, we see extra ladies on bikes.

While some sceptics could say that streetlights are too pricey for councils, I say it’s a worthy funding in making our public areas work for everybody.

Whether the answer is to maintain the lights on or design streetlights with movement sensors, ladies shouldn’t really feel pressured to decide on between a busy highway and a darkish, remoted path.

This isn’t nearly transport – it’s about equality, alternative and eliminating the rock and the exhausting place completely. Because once we make biking safer for girls, we make it safer for everybody.