How safe do you feel moving about Gosford CBD of a day or at night? 

Earlier this year, thousands of women, girls, and gender diverse people participated in the citizen-led engagement project Safer Cities: Her Way to find out more about perceptions of safety in our principal city. 

The engagement results were stark and showed that 71% of respondents avoided activities in Gosford due to not feeling safe, and 76% felt unsafe in Gosford during the night-time. 

136,000 pieces of highly informative data was captured during the engagement process, which has informed the exciting pilot initiatives to enhance safety perceptions across Gosford over the coming months. 

The pilot initiatives include improvements to Burns Place Park; increased lines of sight, lighting and public art activations in Kibble Park and William Street; revitalisation efforts, laneway lighting and community events in the CBD; a ‘Good Times Summer’ event activation including weekly night markets over a six-week period; improved wayfinding signage throughout the CBD, and much more!

In collaboration with Transport for NSW, Council is delivering and testing these initiatives based on what the community told us would make them feel safer when moving through Gosford’s CBD. 

I’m excited to see the impact these pilot initiatives will have and any ripple effects across the region. The number of survey submissions is a testament to the community’s dedication to making Gosford feel safer and I’m pleased that Council is striving forward to achieve this. 

Rik Hart, Administrator