{"id":8284,"date":"2024-09-05T00:02:36","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T14:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/?p=8284"},"modified":"2024-09-05T00:02:38","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T14:02:38","slug":"safer-cities-her-way-gosford-cbd-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/safer-cities-her-way-gosford-cbd-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Safer Cities: Her Way Pilot Program Enhances Safety for Women and Gender Diverse People in Gosford CBD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Central Coast Council\u2019s initiatives, implemented through the Safer Cities: Her Way pilot program, have resulted in a marked improvement in women, girls and gender diverse people, feeling safer in the Gosford CBD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success of the program has also been recognised at the IAP2 Australasia Core Values Awards 2024 in Sydney this week, with the project winning the Community Development Award, and also receiving an Honourable Mention in the overall Project of the Year category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2023, Council received $1 million from Transport for NSW (TfNSW) as part of the Safer Cities: Her Way collaborative partnership program. The program aimed to develop and pilot initiatives co-designed with women, girls and gender diverse people to help improve perceptions of safety on our streets, in parklands and around public transport hubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council selected Gosford transport interchange and the surrounding area as its focus for the Her Way project, as it is one of the main public transport entry points to the Central Coast, with over 6,000 commuters daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council\u2019s Director Community and Recreation Services, Melanie Smith, said Council didn\u2019t hesitate when invited by Transport for NSW to participate in the program. \u201cWomen, girls and gender diverse people across the Central Coast actively use and depend on public transport, public spaces and the streets and paths that connect them, to access essential services and opportunities as part of their everyday lives. Yet, women, girls and gender diverse people face more gender-based harassment and safety issues when using public spaces than men do. \u201cFrom the outset the Council team was determined to use this opportunity to maximise the impact of the pilot project and to create a legacy that would benefit our community both now and into the future. The evaluation results have showed that we have succeeded, and real changes have been made.\u201d Ms Smith said Council really focused on engagement and collaboration with stakeholders, to ensure that the target audiences were empowered and had a real say in what changes were needed for them to feel safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBetween 1 March and 30 June 2023, we asked the community how we could improve perceptions of safety in Gosford. We utilised a survey, interactive map, walk-shops and co-design workshops. \u201cWe had a phenomenal response from our community, with 3,500 community responses, 5,340 visits to the webpage, 30+ in person experiences and 136,000 pieces of data,\u201d Ms Smith said. Ms Smith said results of the engagement program showed that 65% of walk-shop participants felt unsafe or very unsafe in Gosford during the night and 35% felt unsafe or very unsafe during the day. She said specifically, key themes affecting perceptions of safety in Gosford included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n