Campaigners welcome focus on making routes safer for women and girls
Torbay's cycling mayor is currently doing a masters in urban design and says too few female voices are being listened to
Last updated 25th Mar 2026
It's claimed new research showing seven in ten women in the South West would ditch the car and cycle or walk - if they felt routes were safer - is a wake up call.
Beth Huntley, who founded the charity Safe, Sustainable, Travel Torbay has welcomed plans by the Government and Active Travel England to issue new guidance – alongside a £626 million funding pot, announced last year - to address street safety issues.
Torbay’s first self-appointed cycling mayor is also completing a masters in urban design and says there's not currently enough female input in the process and reflected ‘the main issue and barrier is road traffic’.
She said: "Equally we do know that any secluded cycle paths we have, women are a lot less likely to feel safe on those because of the risks - and a lot of it is about lighting and things like very sharp corners.
"I pointed one out to a designer and he had never noticed that this corner could feel very dangerous to women, and that's just one of the examples.
"Another thing is there's some lighting that a female friend pointed out that when she's on her bike it actually really dazzles her - but if you're above a certain height it doesn't affect you at all - and that's just one of the examples where it's really important.
"We know there's a lot less women who plan and design our transport infrastructure and so it's really important to get more women involved in this, and also consult more women on schemes we do to make sure that they feel safe and inclusive.
"The better we design for women, children and people with disabilities the better the infrastructure is for everyone."
The Government and Active Travel England say that new guidance will be issued to councils nationwide 'to help them consider how to make their streets safer for women and girls', adding that: "New polling by YouGov released today has found that in the South West, nearly three quarters (73%) of female respondents said they would be more likely to choose walking over other modes of transport, if routes were safer.
"Nationwide almost nine in 10 (88%) women have felt unsafe while walking at night, while seven in 10 (71%) have changed their route to avoid walking after dark."
The report blames 'inadequate lighting, poorly maintained routes, personal safety fears and antisocial behaviour' as key barriers: "With the majority of respondents saying they would feel safer walking in their neighbourhoods if key issues were addressed," it said.
Local Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “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.
“This programme is turning conversations into real change by working directly with the councils who design our streets to ensure women and girls in our communities feel safe to walk, wheel and cycle whenever they want to.”
Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Jess Phillips added: “Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and this Government will halve it in a decade.
“Women and girls deserve to feel safe simply going about their lives, whether that is walking down the street, travelling, or using public spaces after dark.
“I welcome this work to design streets that make women feel safer, shifting responsibility away from women and onto the spaces and behaviours that put them at risk.”
National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman said: “That almost 9 out of 10 women say they feel unsafe walking after dark is an appalling finding we should be ashamed of. For too long, we have designed streets that don’t work for women and girls.
"We want to help councils remove the barriers that are stopping women and girls from choosing to walk and wheel - whether that's by providing better lighting, surface crossings over underpasses, CCTV or simply by listening to and acting on lived experiences.
“It a terrible thing that women and girls don’t feel they have the same freedoms to simply walk in their neighbourhood as men and boys. Everyone should feel safe getting around, and our job is to help make that happen."
Chief Executive of Living Streets Catherine Woodhead said: “Like many women and girls, I have felt fearful when moving through public spaces my whole life, due to experience. The safety of women and girls on our streets must not be ignored in our community and transport planning and policy. When it is, it leads to women and girls missing out on everything from education and exercise, to leisure and accessing work.
“Living Streets wants neighbourhoods where every woman and girl can walk or wheel wherever they want, whenever they want – free from harassment, fear and exclusion. Achieving this requires not only behaviour change among those who perpetrate harassment but also creating streets that actively prioritise the needs of women and girls."