Pedestrian Collisions Research

OUR WORK — Projects

In 2016, 1691 pedestrians and cyclists were injured in collisions in Alberta, 3 of which were fatalities. Several North American cities have correlated pedestrian collisions with socio-economic factors such as income, age, gender and ethnicity, as well as with the quality of the built environment. We wanted to know if the same held true in Calgary. We commissioned a literature review and new GIS research to explore this with our partners in Toronto and Montreal.

Our GIS analysis tells us there is a correlation between collision frequency and nearby household incomes: more collisions occur in neighbourhoods with lower incomes. It also tells us that other factors are at play. Further research is underway at the University of Calgary to explore additional contributing factors.

A summary of our literature review and results is live on our national website, participatoryplanning.ca. We also presented our results at the 2019 Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals Conference, which had a Vision Zero theme.

What can we do to prevent collisions? For one, we can design a road system that protects against human error. For inspiration, check out Complete Streets Transformations by Complete Streets for Canada, or the NACTO Urban Street Design Guide. We can also weave strong design guidelines into high level policy, which is what we suggest in our most recent edition of Healthy Places: Designing for Health in Alberta; and we can ensure that we spend public dollars both equitably and effectively to work towards zero traffic-related deaths in Calgary.