Negotiating safety and equity: contrasting community experiences of a new urban cycleway

Background Active travel infrastructure is promoted to improve population health, reduce emissions, and support behaviour change. However, evidence of its effectiveness remains mixed, with limited qualitative understanding of how infrastructure is experienced across communities. Aim To explore community experiences of a new urban cycleway, including perceived implications for active travel and health benefits. Methods Three focus groups involving 28 participants (9, 7 and 12) were conducted in Coventry, UK, in October-November 2024 and February 2026. Participants were recruited through council communication channels and included cyclists, residents, drivers and pedestrians, with overlapping roles. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Six themes were identified: perceived safety; route design and continuity; traffic, congestion and lane reduction; uneven accessibility and use; health and wellbeing; and environmental perceptions. Cyclists using completed sections described greater confidence, increased cycling frequency and perceived physical and mental wellbeing benefits. By contrast, residents alongside an unbuilt section anticipated concerns about visibility, access and safety if the proposed design were implemented. Participants also reported design inconsistencies, incomplete connectivity and differing interpretations of road-space reallocation. Some described accessibility concerns relating to mobility impairment and travelling with children; a small number of accounts from one focus group raised gendered safety concerns. Implications Particular design features were described as enabling by some participants and potentially burdensome by others. However, differences in spatial exposure, timing, group composition and prompting could not be disentangled, so these contrasts cannot be attributed to participant characteristics alone. Evaluations should consider lived experience, equity, and implementation context alongside measures of infrastructure use.