In this episode Laura joins a host of (almost entirely female) guests, out on the road in London to talk about how cycle routes deliver - or not - for women’s safety.
In early 2025 Laura interviewed women on the London Cycling Campaign’s Women’s Freedom Ride, a mass ride, after dark, to highlight the safety concerns women face when cycling in London - and how some of the capital’s routes just don’t feel that safe at night.
At the time the Women's Network had just launched a report that showed almost a quarter, 24%, of the city’s cycle routes did not feel safe at night. This meant routes that were isolated, and in some cases poorly lit. The Network’s previous research found that a third of women stop cycling in winter because of safety issues. It also revealed the shocking levels of harassment some women experience on the streets.
Unfortunately some of the audio from that ride was unusable because of the challenges of cycling while recording - so undeterred, a year later Laura went out to gather more recordings and find out what has happened for women's safety in the last year.
In January 2026, Laura went along to the opening of an almost-finished cycle lane and two junction redesigns at one of London’s worst collision hotspots, at Lambeth Bridge.
This was sadly the site of a fatal collision in which art designer Moira Gemmill, was killed while cycling in 2015, when a distracted lorry driver turned into her path.
This episode Laura spoke to:
Kate Bartlett, the mastermind behind the London Cycling Campaign’s Women’s Network’s on-the-ground research around the social safety of London’s cycle infrastructure
Zoe Garbett, Green London Assembly Member
Kerena Fussell, London Cycling Campaign Women’s Network
Deborah from Leytonstone, LCC Women’s Network
Natalie Lyndsey, on the Board of Trustees of the London Cycling Campaign
Helen Cansick, head of safe and healthy streets investment planning for Transport for London
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner
Coverage of the LCC Women's Network's first report from 2024 https://nla.london/news/what-stops-women-cycling-in-london
The London Cycling Campaign’s Women’s Network report, Women’s Freedom After Dark, 2025: https://lcc.org.uk/news/womens-freedom-after-dark/
Moira Gemmill’s death at the hands of a distracted lorry driver: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39027676
Work to improve Lambeth Bridge for cycling https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2025/january/tfl-begins-next-phase-of-work-to-improve-safety-at-lambeth-bridge
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