Mexican Government to Invest Billions in Safe Pathways Illumination Program

ByMexico Solidarity

This article originally appeared in the January 13, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. The investment for the “Safe Paths: Walk Free, Walk Safe” project will be 1.622 billion pesos between 2025 and 2026, reported the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT).

In a statement, it explained that these are illuminated and monitored paths that will be created along 562 kilometers in 23 municipalities in the State of Mexico, Michoacán and Sonora, to guarantee conditions of safety, accessibility and gender equality in strategic public spaces.

The Ministry indicated that these are priority projects of the current administration, which began to be developed in 2025 in Sonora and the State of Mexico; in 2026 they will continue in the State of Mexico and in Michoacán as part of the Michoacán Plan for Peace and Justice, with federal, state and municipal resources.

According to the Undersecretariat of Communications and Transportation, responsible for the work, safe trails were implemented in the municipality of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, during 2025, with an investment of 100 million pesos in 40 kilometers.

Also, as part of the Eastern State of Mexico Plan, during that period 200 kilometers of safe trails were also built in the municipalities of Chalco, Chicoloapan, Chimalhuacán, Ecatepec, Ixtapaluca, Nezahualcóyotl, La Paz, Texcoco, Tlalnepantla and Valle de Chalco, with an investment of 600 million pesos.

Finishing a mural in Chimalhuacán

The goal for this year is to add a length of 300 km in the State of Mexico with an investment of 900 million pesos (to reach 500 km and 1,500 million pesos of investment).

Meanwhile, in Michoacán, as part of the Michoacán Plan for Peace and Justice, the program will be implemented in the municipalities of Coeneo and Tzintzuntzan, with an investment of 22 million pesos for 22 km.

According to estimates, the 11 Safe Routes implemented in 2025, 10 in the State of Mexico and one in Sonora, benefit more than 6 million 400 thousand inhabitants between both regions: 6 million 216.3 thousand in the State of Mexico and around 200 thousand inhabitants of Sonora.

The project includes LED lighting, the adaptation and improvement of sidewalks, as well as the creation of artistic murals to generate a positive identity in the spaces.

With the installation of the “Safe Paths: Walk Free Walk Safe”, the Government of Mexico aims to provide greater security, mainly for women, and guarantee secure transit for all.