Vision Zero Advocate Conference 2018 Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety in Toronto: From Evidence to Practice Kate Bassil Associate Director (A) Healthy Public Policy Toronto Public Health 1
Building Healthy Cities Past Health Challenges Communicable diseases Toronto Archives Healthy City Response Safe drinking water, sewage disposal, and better housing Toronto Archives Present Health Challenges Chronic diseases Insufficient physical activity 2
Health and the Built Environment How we plan and build our cities affects health: Levels of physical activity Rate of vehicle-related collisions Access to nutritious foods Access to jobs, services Outdoor air quality Urban heat Neighbourhood safety Social inclusion 3
Transportation & Health Walking and cycling have many health benefits: Lower all-cause mortality Reduced risk of many chronic illnesses Reducing vehicle trips lowers air pollution, greenhouse gases, noise, and traffic congestion 4
Health Benefits of Shifting Modal Share Population-level relationship between obesity and combined walking, cycling, and transit mode share Source: Transport Canada (2010), data from Basset et al. (2008) 5
Objectives of the Report Describe the health impacts of collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists in Toronto Identify environmental and individual risk factors that contribute to collisions, and severity of injuries 6
Methods Data from the Toronto Police Services collisions reports from 2008 2012 were used to conduct the analysis Injury severity was classified into two categories: Minimal/minor injury Major injury/fatality Descriptive analysis was conducted, and frequencies and proportions were calculated 7
Total Injuries / Fatalities Rate per 1 million trips Pedestrian Injuries and Fatalities Over Time Between 2003 and 2012, rates of pedestrian injuries due to vehicle collisions declined in Toronto. In this time period, the annual number of injuries and fatalities due to collisions with motor vehicles decreased from about 20 to 16 per 1 millions walking trips. Pedestrian Collision Injuries and Fatalities, 2003-2012 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Total Pedestrian Injuries/Fatalities Injuries / Fatalities per 1 million trips Data Source: City of Toronto Police Motor Vehicle Collision Reports 2003-2012, Transportation Tomorrow Survey (2001, 2006 and 2011). 25 20 15 10 5 0 8
Total Injuries / Fatalities Rate per 1 million trips Cyclist Injuries and Fatalities Over Time Between 2003 and 2012, rates of cyclist injuries due to vehicle collisions declined. Cyclist Collision Injuries and Fatalities, 2003-2012 1250 1000 750 60 50 40 While the rate of cyclist collisions declined, the total number of injuries increased. This is likely due to increased numbers of cyclists each year. 500 250 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Total Cyclist Injuries/Fatalities 30 20 10 Injuries/Fatalities per 1 million trips Data Source: City of Toronto Police Motor Vehicle Collision Reports 2003-2012, Transportation Tomorrow Survey (2001, 2006 and 2011). 0 9
Road Type & Collisions Over 80% of pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities from roadway collisions occur on arterial roads. Pedestrian Collision by Road Classification and Injury Severity, 2008-2012 Data Source: City of Toronto Police Motor Vehicle Collisions Reports, 2003-2012 10
Total Collisions Posted Speed Limit & Collisions Of the total pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, about 90% occurred on roads with speed limits of 50 km/hr or 60 km/hr. Pedestrian and Cyclist Collisions Resulting in Injury or Death by Posted Speed Limit, 2009-2013 5000 4000 3000 2000 No fatalities occurred on 1000 roads with a posted speed limit of 30 km/hr. 0 30 km/hr 40 km/hr 50 km/hr 60 km/hr Pedestrian Collisions Cyclist Collisions Source: Data & analysis provided by Transportation Services, Supplemental Report to Proposed 30 km/h Speed Limit Policy, PW3.3 11
Protected Cycling Lanes & Collisions Two thirds of cyclist collisions occurred on roadways without protected cycling lanes. 12
Using the Results: Collaborating with others 13
Relevance to Vision Zero Using the findings from this report, Toronto Public Health worked with Transportation Services to identify effective ways to improve safety on arterial and local roads including: Reducing speed limits and increasing speed limit compliance Public education and community partnerships Road design improvements 14
Thank you! This presentation is based on work conducted by staff of the Healthy Public Policy Directorate of Toronto Public Health, in collaboration with other city partners. With special thanks to Heather Rilkoff, Marco Belmont, Anna Banaszewska, Monica Campbell, Carol Mee, Sherry Biscope, and Taryn Ridsdale. More Information Kate.Bassil@toronto.ca www.toronto.ca/health 15