Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

Survey: Women More Likely to Prefer Separated Bike Infrastructure

What do women really want? A safe place to bike, according to a new survey.

Research presented at the British academic conference Cycling & Society Annual Symposium [PDF] helps confirm that nearly everyone — but women especially — prefer to bike in facilities that are separated from vehicle traffic.

The findings are based on interviews with 940 British men and women, completed as part of a dissertation by Anna Watt at the University of Birmingham. The results indicated a clear preference for trails — off-road routes through parks — over any other type of infrastructure. But women preferred them even more strongly. The second choice for both men and women was curb protected bike lanes.

Both men and women said safety was their top concern when it came to cycling. But after that, opinions varied, with men placing more importance on directness of bike routes and women willing to accept bigger detours in the name of safety.

Infrastructure preferences varied with cyclists' experience. Both men and women non-cyclists strongly preferred off-street infrastructure. Bicyclists with a mid-level experience — especially men — showed stronger preferences for on-road infrastructure. Among the most-experienced cyclists, women still showed a preference for the off-road infrastructure, Watts found.

For practitioners, she told Streetsblog, that means "experience, training and type of cycling don't affect preferences, so there is a limit to which behavioral interventions can go before the infrastructure is required."

Women were also slightly less likely to wear a helmet every time they road a bike. And were more likely to say they wished they did not have to wear one (20 percent, versus 14 percent of men).

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

SEE IT: Cops Violently Arrest Teen Riding Citi Bike in Alphabet City

Three cops slammed a teenager to the ground, pulled his hair and knelt on his head — for allegedly riding a Citi Bike "in a reckless manner."

August 29, 2025

‘Pedestrianize’ the Financial District, Lower Manhattan Council Member Says

Downtown Council Member Chris Marte says the city refuses to launch a $500K downtown pedestrianization study funded by his predecessor.

August 29, 2025

Friday Video: The Problem With … ‘Friday Video’?!

The urbanism YouTube sphere is thriving — but who's getting the views?

August 29, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Parking Madness Edition

A single new block of green-painted bike lane makes illegal parking by cops from the 114th Precinct even more illegal. Plus more news.

August 29, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: The Menace of Prosperity

Daniel Wortel-London on his new book, "The Menace of Prosperity: New York City and the Struggle for Economic Development, 1875–1981."

August 28, 2025

MONEY TALKS: Business Interests Call the Shots in Eric Adams’s New York

Forget the bribery charges — you don't have to break the law to buy influence in the Big Apple.

August 28, 2025
See all posts