Women join call for better lighting on city paths

Women in a city have called for safer, better-lit paths and underpasses to encourage more people to walk, cycle or run after dark.

A Liberal Democrat motion to tackle the issue in Milton Keynes was met with cross-party support at a council meeting.

Rena, a member of a local running group, said on some paths there was "no lighting at all", making running difficult, especially in winter.

Jennifer Wilson-Marklew, a councillor with a responsibility for paths and pavements, said no Milton Keynes resident should ever feel unsafe, adding the council repaired streetlights as quickly as possible.

Milton Keynes has more than 200 miles (320km) of redway paths - traffic-free routes shared by cyclists and pedestrians.

There are also 25 lakes and 6,000 acres of parkland.

Many streetlight repairs are carried out by National Grid, which owns and operates the high-voltage electricity transmission network.

Amid concerns about delays, a spokesperson for the energy company said: "We understand how important reliable streetlighting is for people and are working closely with MK Council to manage and progress repairs connected to our network."

They added: "Once the council notifies us of a fault, our teams assess what is needed and carry out the necessary work, which can sometimes involve small excavations or traffic management to ensure repairs are completed safely."

But there are worries the lack of lights could mean women walking home in the dark or avoiding certain routes because they do not feel safe.

Rena, a Redway Runners committee member, said she estimated only about 30% of the paths in Milton Keynes were properly lit.

The group has more than 3,000 members and she said some have experienced problems.

She said there had been "one or two incidents" where people had been verbally abused or did not feel safe, although she said it did "not happen often".

Rena lives in the north of the city and said where she ran was "nice and flat but surrounded by trees", adding that at times "the lights seem to go out as you run as if there are sensors that switch off".

She said she often avoided Willen Lake, Ouzel Valley Park and Campbell Park because there was little or no lighting.

Rena said dark underpasses were "a huge thing" as "some are not lit very well at all".

Software engineer Emily Ho has lived in the city for over twenty years.

She said when she delivered leaflets for the Liberal Democrats in the Downs Barn area she did not feel unsafe, but felt the lighting could be better.

With the lighting motion getting cross-party support, she said she felt optimistic about improvements.

She said solar lights on some city bridges were "a good start" and she hoped more could be installed as they were "relatively cheap".

"I think everyone understands that if we can go out a bit more it helps the mental health and physical health and everyone feels a bit better being able to move around freely," she added.

Wilson-Marklew, a Labour councillor, said: "No-one should ever feel unsafe in Milton Keynes, and residents' safety remains our priority.

"The council repairs streetlights as quickly as possible when the issue is a simple bulb change or an isolated fault.

"Many of the city's power cables are now reaching the end of their lifespan, and as a result, the council is increasingly seeing clusters of lights go out at once, including in underpasses."

Wilson-Marklew added: "These repairs are far more complex and take longer to complete.

"Despite this, there are currently just 1.3% of street lights out across the city and we will continue pushing for fixes to take place as soon as they can."

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