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Background Toronto introduced a Vision Zero Road Safety Plan (RSP) in 2017 with a goal of eliminating road traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2021. A series of policies were published alongside the RSP with a focus on pedestrians, school children, and cyclists. While these documents provide insight into plans for future interventions targeted at vulnerable road users, little is known about the types of interventions that are most frequently recommended by policymakers and whether they are effective at reducing injuries. Objective The purpose of this study was to identify and categorize the types of interventions outlined in city plans and/or policies directly related to traffic safety in Toronto, Canada. Methods We performed an environmental scan of policies/plans that outline interventions such as regulatory changes and awareness campaigns with a focus on road traffic safety. Results Our search yielded 26 policies with a purpose/objective statement on topics including the built environment, urban design, and active school transportation. Almost half (46%) were identified as being directly related to road traffic safety and were further summarized by intervention type, target population, cost, and whether the intervention was outlined in Toronto’s Vision Zero RSP. A total of 107 interventions were identified in policy documents in Toronto. Forty three percent of interventions recommended modifications to the built environment (e.g. traffic calming measures). Interventions requiring a reduced speed limit from 50 km/h to 40 or 30 km/h were mentioned in 58% of policy documents in Toronto. Conclusions Most interventions outlined in road safety policy documents in Toronto align with Vision Zero. Having identified the policies/plans that are recommended most often for implementation, these results will be used to prioritize naturalistic (quasi-experimental) research studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of specific interventions (e.g. speed limit reductions). Future studies will examine inter-municipal policy comparisons between Canadian provinces.

Background Road traffic injury is the leading cause of death for children in Canada. Lower speed roads are correlated with lower pedestrian injury severity. Pedestrians are 8 times more likely to die after being struck by a motor vehicle going 50 km/h compared with 30 km/h. Few studies have examined the effect of speed limit reductions on vulnerable road users such as bicyclists or pedestrians. Given the recent increase in the number of pedestrian motor vehicle collisions (PMVC) in Toronto, it is important to describe the effectiveness of interventions such as speed limit reductions. Objective To examine the effect of lowering residential speed limits to 30 km/h on police reported child PMVCs in Toronto, Canada between 2014 and 2018. Methods We will investigate the influence of implementing 30 km/h speed limits on 387 km of residential streets that occurred in January 2015. We will calculate the number of police reported child PMVC per km per month along these streets for two years before and two years after the speed limit change. We will use comparator streets with a constant 40 or 50 km/h limit to isolate the effect of the intervention from that of secular trends, controlling for other built environment characteristics (e.g., speed humps, pedestrian crossovers). Expected findings We hypothesize that the rate of PMVC will decrease after the implementation of 30 km/h speed limits. pedestrian safety, including speed limit reductions. It is important to evaluate and quantify the effect of these changes on child pedestrian injury rates. Policy implications Results may provide evidence to support the implementation of speed reductions to make our roads safer.

Background There has been an increase in cycling over recent years in Toronto, Canada and the risk of injuries associated with various cycling infrastructures have yet to be fully understood. More specifically, cycle tracks (painted bike lanes with a physical separation from traffic) have become more prevalent in Toronto’s cycling network and may offer additional protection for cyclists. However, there has been little research examining the effects of these new cycle tracks in Toronto. Objective To examine the impact of the implementation of cycle tracks on the rate of cycle-motor vehicle collisions (CMVC) on tracks in Toronto, Canada. Methods Using a naturalistic experimental design, CMVC rates per month were calculated for 2 years pre and post-installation of six cycle tracks. Collisions reported to the Toronto Police Service between 2000 and 2016 were mapped using ArcGIS. A repeated measures Poisson model was used to evaluate the effect of cycle track implementation on rates of CMVC adjusted for season and cycle tracks upgraded from painted bike lanes. Results A total of 20,632 CMVC were reported in Toronto between 2000 and 2016, of which 190 collisions occurred on the six cycle tracks (3 upgraded from lanes) included in the analysis. The crude CMVC incidence rate before and after cycle track implementation was 0.42 collisions/month and 0.90 collisions/month respectively. The rate of CMVC significantly increased more than 2-fold following the implementation of cycle tracks (IRR=2.18, 95% CI: 1.42 to 3.33, p=0.003).The implementation of cycle tracks may result in an increased number of cyclists which may lead to greater risks for collisions. Conclusions Further investigation is required to examine the change in cycling volume on these tracks. In addition, the area-wide effects of cycle tracks should be explored to determine whether CMVC rates change on surrounding roadways without any cycling infrastructure.

Background The number of child pedestrians killed or seriously injured on Canada’s roadways increases annually. One third of individuals who die on the roads are children. Research has focused on trying to change the behaviour of children who cross the road; this approach is not effective and can lead to victim blaming. Identifying characteristics of drivers who collide with pedestrians (pedestrian motor vehicle crashes-PMVC) and built environment (BE) risk factors can potentially influence policies that affect drivers and infrastructure; creating safer walking spaces for children. Objective To examine the characteristics of 1) drivers involved in a child PMVC in Calgary or Edmonton, Alberta; 2) the BE in which child PMVC occur. Methods Using police reported traffic collisions, we will examine characteristics of motorists involved in child PMVCs. These motorist’s characteristics will be compared with motorists who were involved in a collision with at least one other vehicle, but were assessed to be not at fault. This ‘not at fault’ control group will represent the source population of all motorists allowing us to highlight differences in driver and built environment characteristics between them and the drivers involved in PMVC. Expected findings We hypothesize that the characteristics of drivers who hit a child pedestrian (i.e. behaviour, driver action) and the BE will significantly differ from the control population of non-culpable drivers. Conclusion Expecting children to behave ‘appropriately’ on the road is unrealistic and trying to modify their behaviour with pedestrian training programs is ineffective. A more promising strategy to prevent PMVC relates to policies affecting drivers (e.g., distracted driving laws, speed limit reductions) and BE modification (e.g., traffic calming strategies). Policy implications This innovative study will provide information that can be used to create conditions for safer walking for children and youth potentially leading to better long- term population health.