Map of London cycle routes deemed unsafe for women after dark
Women have shared the barriers they face while cycling, including gendered abuse and avoiding certain routes after dark.
Cycling should be about freedom, but the joy of riding is often ruined for women and many feel forced to avoid London canals, underpasses and parks when the sun sets.
Two cyclists talked about road violence they have faced when riding in the capital ahead of the London Cycling Campaign Women’s network protest ride in the dark tomorrow.
A retired nurse was told to ‘get out of my way you f****** old cow’ by a van driver after he almost crashed into her, while another rider was told ‘you can f*** off and suck your mother’ when riding her bike.
It comes after cycling campaigners have found that almost a quarter of TfL’s Cycleway network is ‘socially unsafe’ after dark.
Where ‘socially unsafe’ Cycleways are in London
Almost a quarter of the 219-mile London Cycleway network was found to be ‘socially unsafe’ after dark, the London Cycling Campaign found when its volunteers assessed the routes during nighttime rides against a set of criteria.
The report said: ‘For part of the day and year these Cycleways are effectively unusable for most people, with women and girls being
disproportionately affected.
'Socially unsafe' London cycle routes
A swathe of London Cycleways was labelled socially unsafe, meaning places where there is a risk of harm from other people, the campaigners said.
The LCC riders looked at what kind of an area the route was on such as by a railway, industrial areas, overgrown vegetation, within a park or on a towpath or river.
Each route was also scored for its features, such as whether there were reports of antisocial behaviour, blind corners or ‘ambush points,’ feeling neglected, lack of an escape route or poor lighting.
- 24% of the 219-mile TfL Cycleway network was found to be ‘socially unsafe’ after dark – around 52 miles
- 58% had at least one ‘socially unsafe’ segment
- 10 worst Cycleways are ‘socially unsafe’ for 70% or more of their length
- Seven Cycleways were labelled ‘100% socially unsafe,’ with the longest being the Grand Union Canal Cycleway and the Greenway (C22)
- 63% of unsafe sections were in or next to parks, while other factors were waterways, railways, industrial estates and underpasses
‘While many of these routes are valuable for leisure cycling during summer months, and should continue to be
enjoyed as cycle routes, they are not inclusive enough to be classified as Cycleways, part of London’s core, strategic cycle network.’
The campaigners urged TfL, councils and police to make leisure routes safer with more CCTV and lighting in underpasses, isolated areas and crime hotspots.
‘It made me feel sick’
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Nevin Sunderji, 58, from Hounslow, said how he was left feeling ‘sick’ after an encounter with a threatening driver in 2018.
When riding on Kensington High Street to her job in Farringdon, a driver decided to suddenly switch lanes close to Nevin on the junction near St Mary Abbots Church. The two locked eyes before the driver suddenly put his window down.
The male driver with ‘Jamaican flags all over his car’ told Nevin ‘you are behaving like you own the road, why don’t you suck your mother’ along with other expletives.
‘He was on a roll. It made me feel sick,’ the travel consultant and cycling teacher told Metro.
She continued: ‘It happened so quickly and out of the blue.
‘I didn’t do anything wrong – I know how to cycle on the road. I was in the correct lane, I wasn’t riding erratically and I didn’t even ring the bell.
‘All I did was to look into the car, see and be seen, to make sure he could see me.’
She said the situation made her ‘feel unsafe’ and has stayed with her since.
‘I started crying when I got to work. It’s never happened to me before,’ Nevin said.
Nevin said she avoids alleys on a bike and on foot even if it is a ‘shortcut home.’
‘I don’t like cycling in the dark through Hounslow. Nothing’s happened but I just feel like ‘nah, not going to do that,’ she said.
Julia Manteghi, 72, a retired nurse from Brent, was enjoying a regular ride just after the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns when ‘a van close passed me and then tried to cut me up.’ Shocked from the near miss, she ‘shouted’ and said ‘you cut me up.’
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
Throughout the year we will be bringing you stories that shine a light on the sheer scale of the epidemic.
With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to engage and empower our readers on the issue of violence against women.
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Read more:
- Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro's year-long violence against women campaign
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The driver, a man in his 20s, then leaned out of his window and said ‘get out of my way you f****** old cow.’
She told Metro: ‘As an older woman you don’t pick fights with people like that. I didn’t realitate. What can you do? You have no hope in hell.
‘I did very much feel threatened, because he used his car against me. I don’t want to get knifed or punched. It’s that sense of self entitlement to feel he had ownership of the road.
‘I frequently get told move over and I regularly get hooted at. Drivers do not appreciate that cyclists can’t go right next to parked cars.’
Julia, who has cycled in London since she was 18 and does so five days a week, said she avoids certain routes after dark, including ‘deserted’ and ‘unlit’ off-road paths and underpasses.
It means she has to choose between potentially risking her life by taking a busier route with heavy traffic and lorries or a quiet path in the dark.
‘I’d hesitate to use the canal path at night. You do worry about people thinking to push you in,’ she added.
A TfL spokesperson said: ‘Everyone should feel safe when cycling in the capital and we know that the safety of women and girls, including how safe they feel, can be a barrier to cycling. That’s why we’re working to better understand how our schemes affect the safety, and feeling of safety, for women and girls. This includes a trial of a new women’s safety auditing process that we are hoping will help us develop a more effective approach to building and improving cycling infrastructure in London.
‘We are working closely with the Mayor, police, boroughs and other partners who have a shared responsibility and interest in making spaces safer for women and girls, including supporting boroughs in upgrading existing routes, such as the recent lighting upgrade on Cycleway 49 in Ealing. We welcome this report from the London Cycling Campaign and will be carefully considering its recommendations.’
Read more about Metro’s violence against women campaign This Is Not Right.
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