Nearly two-thirds of women (63%) want to see more lighting on streets to make them feel safer at night, government-backed research has found.
The survey of of 2,125 adults, carried out by pollster YouGov in February, has come as the government has said it intends to issue guidance to councils to help them consider how to make their streets safer for women and girls.
The poll, for Active Travel England, found that almost nine in 10 (88%) women say they have felt unsafe while walking at night. Seven in 10 (71%) have changed their route to avoid walking in the dark during winter or darker months.
Inadequate lighting, poorly maintained routes, personal safety fears and antisocial behaviour were identified as key barriers, with the majority of respondents saying they would feel safer walking in their neighbourhoods if key issues were addressed.
This was echoed in Liverpool on the evening of 24 March, where local transport minister, Lilian Greenwood, walked on several streets with a group of women and girls to talk about what they need to feel safer, Active Travel England said.
The new guidance will be published during the spring and will outline how local authorities can design their streets to be safer for women and girls.
It is intended to look at active travel “through the lens of gender can help create safer and more inclusive places, including explaining the importance of implementing better-designed street lighting and improved visibility, as well as established walking routes along roads that are generally busy and overlooked by other people and CCTV”, Active Travel England added.
The polling found that, as well as the 88% who reported feeling unsafe walking alone after dark, more than a third (38%) said they “always” or “often” felt unsafe.
More than one in three young women noted personal safety fears are preventing them from walking more in their neighbourhood (36% of 18-24 year olds).
Lighting was the biggest factor in making streets feel safer. More than three in five (63%) of female respondents suggested that increased lighting on streets would make them feel safer when walking alone.
“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,” said local transport minister Lilian Greenwood.
“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,” she added.
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