Traffic Safety Study at Calgary Elementary Schools
- Conditions
- Motor Vehicle Injury
- Interventions
- Other: In-Street Pedestrian SignOther: Traffic Calming Curbs
- Registration Number
- NCT04956250
- Lead Sponsor
- University of Calgary
- Brief Summary
Installing specific traffic calming features designed to reduce vehicle speed and volume around schools may lead to a reduction in injury risk for child pedestrians and bicyclists, and may increase numbers of children walking and bicycling to school. Therefore, this study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of specific built environment features at influencing traffic speed and volume, and active transportation, both immediately following installation and months later.
- Detailed Description
Background Collisions with motor-vehicles are a leading cause of severe child bicyclist and pedestrian injuries in Canada. Injury rates and severity are associated with traffic speeds and volume but may be moderated through traffic calming.
Objective To assess the association of specific traffic calming measures on changes in traffic speed and volume, and active transportation prevalence, around Calgary, Alberta, Canada elementary schools.
Design This modified stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial was conducted at a sample of public elementary schools, from July 2020 to May 2021. Schools had either traffic calming curbs or in-street signs installed at an intersection within 100 m of the main entrance. The primary outcome was speed of vehicles driving towards or away from intervention. Secondary outcomes were traffic volume driving past the intervention and counts of children using active transportation at the intervention crosswalk.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- WITHDRAWN
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- Not specified
- No individual participants are recruited.
Not provided
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- SEQUENTIAL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description In-Street Sign Group In-Street Pedestrian Sign In-street pedestrian signs are regulatory signs placed along the centre line of the street, to remind road users of a pedestrian right-of-way at the marked/unmarked crosswalk. Traffic Calming Curb Group Traffic Calming Curbs Traffic calming curbs are yellow concrete slabs designed by the City of Calgary to be the same height as other roadside curbs and improve safety by reducing the street width, similar to curb extensions.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Traffic Speed - Post-intervention At each location, a week of post-intervention data collection will occur a week after the intervention being installed. Traffic speed of all vehicles who pass by the intervention will be recorded.
Traffic Speed - Pre-intervention At each location, a week of pre-intervention data collection will occur a week prior to the intervention being installed. Traffic speed of all vehicles who pass by the intervention will be recorded.
Traffic Speed - Follow-up At a random selection of locations (drawn from those that received the intervention during the school year), a week of data collection will occur during the spring following the installation of the intervention. Traffic speed of all vehicles who pass by the intervention will be recorded.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Traffic Volume - Follow-up At a random selection of locations (drawn from those that received the intervention during the school year), a week of data collection will occur during the spring following the installation of the intervention. The number of all vehicles who pass by the intervention will be recorded.
Active Transportation Counts - Follow-up At a random selection of locations (drawn from those that received the intervention during the school year), a day of data collection will occur during the spring following the installation of the intervention. The number of people (Adults v Children) who use the intervention location, and mode of travel (e.g. walking, bicycling).
Active Transportation Counts - Post-intervention At each location, a day of post-intervention data collection will occur a week after the intervention being installed. . The number of people (Adults v Children) who use the intervention location, and mode of travel (e.g. walking, bicycling).
Traffic Volume - Pre-intervention At each location, a week of pre-intervention data collection will occur a week prior to the intervention being installed. The number of all vehicles who pass by the intervention will be recorded.
Traffic Volume - Post-intervention At each location, a week of post-intervention data collection will occur a week after the intervention being installed. The number of all vehicles who pass by the intervention will be recorded.
Active Transportation Counts - Pre-intervention At each location, a day of pre-intervention data collection will occur a week prior to the intervention being installed. . The number of people (Adults v Children) who use the intervention location, and mode of travel (e.g. walking, bicycling).
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
University of Calgary
🇨🇦Calgary, Alberta, Canada