Did you know: Women in NSW are twice as likely to feel unsafe at night in public places compared to men. Women are also much more likely than men to change when and how they visit public places based on how safe they feel (NSW Safer Cities Survey Report 2023).
HCCDC is working with Transport for NSW to improve feelings of safety in public spaces, and around transport hub precincts across NSW – particularly for women, girls and gender diverse people.
The Safer Cities program has three aims:
- Increasing women and girls’ safety and access to public spaces
- Enabling women and girls’ to move freely and alone in their community
- Increasing women and girls’ engagement with how the spaces around them are designed and managed.
Bernie Goodwin Park, Morisset
HCCDC has been working with teenage girls in Lake Macquarie to create a public space where everyone can feel safe to relax, play and socialise.
In 2024, we brought together a group of local girls for creative workshops to uncover what impacts their sense of safety in public, identify a space to enhance and to co-design a place that they’d love to spend time in.
The workshops generated ideas including comfortable furniture, areas to socialise, greenery and play equipment tailored to teens.
These ideas have been brought to life in Bernie Goodwin Park at Morisset, with an enhanced and inclusive space now open to the public.
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Bernie Goodwin Park was chosen in consultation with local girls due to its proximity to Morisset High School, transport, shops and sporting facilities.
New additions to the site include social seating, hammocks, inlaid trampolines, landscaped gardens and new trees. This has created an inviting haven for teenage girls and the wider community to enjoy.
Visit Bernie Goodwin Park on Newcastle Street, Morisset.
Recharge spot trial, Gosford waterfront
Have you spotted this funky looking structure near the boat ramp carpark on Gosford waterfront?
This smart street furniture was co-designed with women and girls as part of the Safer Cities program to create a welcoming spot to rest and recharge, while helping us understand how the community uses the public space in the area.
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This trial project provides seating, shade and lighting, as well as device charging stations, helping keep the community connected and more confident along the waterfront. It also uses data-capture technology to count the number of people using the space. No identifying information is captured.
This temporary recharge spot will be up until mid-May 2026.
Ideas workshops, Gosford CBD
Building on Central Coast Council’s ‘Her Way’ project, we now have set our sights on making community members feel safer in public in the Gosford CBD.
We recently sat down with teenage girls and women from the Gosford community to talk about what makes them feel safe and unsafe in areas of the city, and what changes would make them more likely to get out and enjoy public spaces.
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Over two sessions and a ‘walkshop’ through key sites in Gosford, the group identified potential enhancements ranging from lighting and surveillance to improved wayfinding.
We will now consolidate and review this feedback and work with Transport for NSW and Central Coast Council to determine the right location for improvements.
Safer Cities is funded by the NSW Government and led by Transport for NSW.
Transport for NSW is investing $30 million into the program to engage with women, girls and gender diverse people to understand their perspectives, and co-design place-based solutions that improve feelings of safety when walking to, through and within public spaces including our streets.