@JasonThorne it never ceases to amaze me how much my biases and privileges cause me to miss. Whenever a moment like this occurs where my privilege is revealed, it makes me wonder how often I'm viewing something from a privileged perspective and I'm not aware!

#privilege

@JasonThorne have you checked out Gender Equality Toolkit in Transport?

https://www.the-get-it.com

@JasonThorne cane for balance user & thick eyeglasses wearer, who enjoys hiking, but needs spots for their spouse to sit & rest - no benches and no clear marking on the sides of the path. Anything weather wise: rain or snow or just wet, would make this hard to navigate.

It is smooth but not perfect & in a first time use even in good weather I'd be going around with my cane for greater safety, especially if I knew I'd need to travel on it again.

@JasonThorne as I read your description I was thinking the same thing as your girlfriend and was glad to see that someone told you.

Even in broad daylight my teen daughters and I will be catcalled on major thourouhgfares that are car focused. People are "there" but speeding by so men yell things passing by or offer rides in the most creepy manner.

@JasonThorne
I think this is interesting - there are definitely ways to make this route feel safer to users, especially at night.

But is it somewhere that is designed to be used at night?

@JasonThorne I saw this picture, and immediately thought about escape routes and what this would look like in the dark. Basically, "Nice, but..."

My thoughts came from once living in an area where mugging was always a possibility, and I'm tuned to such things: nearest exit, where are potential observers, where is vulnerable to ambush?

So yes, affirming your point, and also obs of the commenters here, the safety picture is much wider than gender or sex.

@JasonThorne yes!! Exactly the same for hiking trails. Isolated campsites by road where cars can pull in late at night and trap you with no escape pathways. Women would tuck campsites far away from easy access and where people approaching have to make substantial effort to get there and are visible ahead of time. Also where pathways away from tents are multiple.

No campsite or trail is perfect but don’t make it easy to be attacked.

@JasonThorne I rode a rail trail that started in a Mansfield, Ohio city park. Isolated ravine for the first couple miles, but emergency call boxes every few hundred feet.

Paid close attention to my surroundings and was damn sure to do it only in daylight, and I’d be willing again under the same conditions