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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2000 May 1;91(3):201–206. doi: 10.1007/BF03404272

Are Child Pedestrians at Increased Risk of Injury on One-way Compared to Two-way Streets?

Ashley Wazana 110,✉, Vicki L Rynard 210, Parminder Raina 210,310, Paul Krueger 210,410, Larry W Chambers 210,410
PMCID: PMC6979836  PMID: 10927849

Abstract

Objectives: To compare child pedestrian injury rates on one-way versus two-way streets in Hamilton, and examine whether the characteristics of child pedestrian injuries differ across street types.

Methods: The rates of injury per child population, per kilometre, per year were calculated by age, sex and socio-economic status (SES). Child, environment and driver characteristics were investigated by street type.

Results: The injury rate was 2.5 times higher on one-way streets than on two-way streets and 3 times higher for children from the poorest neighbourhoods than for those from wealthier neighbourhoods. SES, injury severity, number of lanes, collision location and type of traffic control were also found to be significantly different across street types.

Conclusions: One-way streets have higher rates of child pedestrian injuries than two-way streets in this community. Future risk factor and intervention studies should include the directionality of streets to further investigate its contribution to child pedestrian injuries.

Footnotes

This project was funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation Project Number 909103. Ashley Wazana was supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council of Canada, Farquharson Award in the course of this project.

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