The InfraSisters are behind the Our Streets Our Nights cycle ride in Edinburgh on 1 December, when a group of women from Edinburgh and the Lothians, will lead their fifth night-time mass cycle ride through the city streets.
The ride will depart from Middle Meadow Walk at 7.30pm. Campaigning for night-time cycle infrastructure that is safe for women and girls, their winter rides are full of joy, music, fairy lights and laughter. However, there’s a serious message behind the fun.
While the council is slowly developing safe cycling infrastructure, progress is not what it should be, and many women and girls are afraid to cycle in Edinburgh, particularly in the dark.
The off-road paths, while important for leisure rides, tend to be isolated with few escape routes and no natural surveillance. Many women have experienced anti-social behaviour and some have been abused and even assaulted on these paths. On roads, women and girls often face aggressive close-passing drivers along with hazardous junctions and poor road surfaces in areas where there is no protected cycle infrastructure.
The Our Streets Our Nights campaign rides shine a light on the dilemma that women and girls face cycling in the city when trying to plan safe routes for ordinary everyday trips. Sadly, while the rides are popular and welcoming, some women say they don’t come along because there is no safe route for them to get to the start of the ride.
This December, the InfraSisters are encouraging volunteers to lead feeder rides from around the city to support those women who aren’t confident cycling alone to get to the ride.
The InfraSisters are inviting all Edinburgh councillors and MSPs to join them. Attending the ride gives politicians an important opportunity to talk to women and girls on the ride to learn about their experiences, and why there’s an urgent need for cycling infrastructure that works for everyone 24/7. Many politicians have taken part in previous rides.
The InfraSisters call on The City of Edinburgh Council to follow Transport Scotland’s updated Cycling by Design guidance and: prioritise safe and comfortable on-road cycle infrastructure, protected from traffic or off the road, on well-lit direct routes; provide well-signed routes with exits, not fenced/ walled on both sides, and with good connections to other streets; and provide routes which use natural surveillance where possible, for example streets with high footfall.
Everyone is welcome to come on the ride. Do ensure that your cycle is roadworthy and that your lights are fully charged. You’ll also need warm clothes as the rides moves slowly to ensure everyone can enjoy it.
For more information see www.infrasisters.org.uk or find the InfraSisters on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The route will be posted nearer the time.
