Why is good lighting so important?

This month, Wollongong City Council began rolling out the first trial interventions of the Safer Cities: Her Way project. This project is a collaborative partnership between Transport for NSW and Council that aims to improve perceptions of safety for women, girls and gender diverse people when travelling to, through, and within public spaces and transport hubs.

Read more about the project in the media release: ‘Safer Cities trial kicks off in the City of Wollongong’.

One intervention that will be rolled-out across all three trial locations — Wollongong CBD, Port Kembla Town Centre, and Dapto Town Centre — is something called ‘Gender Sensitive Lighting’.

Image: Council held night and day walks with community members at the pilot locations to better understand what made them feel unsafe.

Here’s how Wollongong City Council Director Community Services Kerry Hunt explained what it is.

“Gender sensitive lighting is a common term used to describe many different forms of lighting that help illuminate a space so that it feels welcoming and safe,” Ms Hunt said.

“Streetlights are predominately used to illuminate roads so that vehicles can see where they’re going. These types of lights, while useful for drivers, can create harsh shadows outside of the immediately lit up area and this can make spaces feel less safe.

“Gender sensitive lighting focusses on using things like fairy lights or even new technologies such as LEDs to illuminating public spaces. It’s about using clever lighting options to illuminate more space and have less harsh shadows. This helps people, specifically women, girls and gender diverse people to feel safer moving through public spaces as they can see more clearly.’’

Right now, Council is undertaking a massive project to change the remainder of the city’s streetlights, some 8,521 globes, to LEDs. This project is a climate change mitigation initiative that also has huge benefits for people’s perceptions of safety.

Read more about this project in the media release: ‘LED there be light: Making Wollongong's streets safer for all’.

Image: The LED streetlight project will reduce the city’s energy consumption by 4,089 megawatt hours per year, while also improving lighting for people.

“It was perfect timing that the Safer Cities: Her Way project coincided with Council’s push to replace our streetlights across the whole of our LGA. This roll-out of LEDs will have a massive impact on visibility as well as reducing the city’s energy consumption. It’s a real win-win!” Ms Hunt said.

“As part of the Safer Cities trial, we’ll also be testing other forms of gender sensitive lighting in the three selected locations. This will include things like uplighting, fairy lights, festoon lighting and ring light seats.

“These changes will not only help illuminate the spaces better, but they’ll also make these areas more attractive and pleasant to visit. We’re inviting people to experience this themselves by coming along to some associated activities planned in Dapto Town Centre and MacCabe Park like exercise classes, cinema nights and picnics with food, art and live music.”

For more information about the Safer Cities project including upcoming events, follow the City of Wollongong Facebook page or visit Council’s website.

Safer Cities: Her Way is proudly funded by the NSW Government through the Safer Cities Program led by Transport for NSW.