This month brings the promise of new lighting in Retreat Lane.
The move pushed by both YUSU and York councillors is in reaction to issues of safety.
The route, which runs from Heslington Road and on to the university campus, is very popular with students but has been highlighted as an unsafe area.
One Derwent second year student said: “I do feel unsafe on Retreat Lane sometimes. It is impossible to see around the bends on that particular pathway and the lighting is not always of a good standard.”
Councillor David Levene, who was heavily involved in the campaign to get new lighting, explained to Vision: “I’m very happy that after incidents stretching back as far as twenty years, we’re finally about to see some action.”
The campaign for this new set of lighting has gone on for more than 20 years, and it has showed that the concerns about the lighting were not unfounded.
In February 2005, a student was raped in the early hour of the morning while making her way back to campus via Retreat Lane.
A sex attack was also reported in 2001, and there have been a number of robberies reported over the last decade. This had led to many protests about the lack of good lighting, including a “Reclaim the Night” protest in 2011.
YUSU’s “How Safe is Your Campus?” report in 2012 marked Retreat Lane as a problematic location, and the main factor for this was the poor lighting.
A second year student said: “I have to walk through it every night and it makes me really nervous. I am thrilled that there will now be better lighting.”
These worries have continued over the years, and Retreat Lane was established by YUSU’s report in 2012 as being a problematic location. Another student, who preferred to remain anonymous, commented to Vision: ”It is always worrying when walking down Retreat Lane. But the fact that the new lighting will soon be in place means we’ll all feel much safer. It’s good for the students and a win for the councillors too. It’s an absolutely vital move.”
The reason that the lights have taken so long to be installed is that it was unclear who the owners of the lane were.
The records of who actually owned the land had been lost, and so it was unclear whether the route was the responsibility of the University or that of the Council. A solution, however, was found with the proposal of installing LED solar street lighting, which is both low-maintenance and low-cost.
The University and the Council have also agreed to share the installation costs. Though the date is uncertain, it has been confirmed that the lights will be put into place as soon as possible.
After such a long campaign, the announcement has been met with much relief by the University.
Retreat Lane is not, however, the only place that has been raised as a safety problem. In the 2012 Safer Campus Survey, Walmgate Stray was also noted by students to be a place of concern. This pathway runs between Wentworth College and Fulford.
The University has campus security numbers available for students. In an emergency, students can call 01904 32 3333 (or 3333 on any of the phones on campus) for help, while in a non-emergency situation students may ring 01904 32 4444.